Hope Examination Theory
by Nicolas Crossworth
Summary: In which anomalies run rampant, nothing ever goes right, and there's something different about Madoka. Homura Akemi is a magical girl and she may have found herself at the center of something ridiculous.
1. Chapter 1:Violent Tendencies

_Nick Notes: Remember when I said I was going write a story with Madoka punching things? Yeah, this is it. I made this story out of pure shits and giggles and I regret nothing. _

* * *

><p>Another timeline gone…<p>

* * *

><p>She woke up on the same hospital bed for what seemed to be the sixtieth time. She was getting sick of it, the smell of the sterile room, the sight of the light green windows and the dim light from the bulb above her. Her mind was still reeling, memories of the previous timeline stabbing themselves into her mind, reminding her of another failure. She could never really get used to this. The time that she <em>did<em> get used to it was the time she would pull a gun out of her shield and promptly ventilate her Soul Gem as soon as she woke up from this god forsaken hospital.

With the way things were progressing, she might just do it if she weren't being a spineless twat half the time. A sigh escaped her lips as she began to salvage what was left of the turning points she noted during the last timeline. Another timeline in which she spent the better half of the first hour of her assault on Walpurgisnacht with the aid of Kyouko Sakura and Mami Tomoe getting slapped into buildings and crushed by incoming debris. Her grip upon her sheets tightened once she recalled the sight of her friends' demise from a dense beam of roaring energy.

She couldn't save them. At the very least she managed to convince the Madoka of that timeline to escape Mitakihara before the fated day. She didn't even hope to think that Madoka got off safely. Just why did she choose to stay behind to fight Walpurgisnacht again? Right… It was because of a careless promise with Mami Tomoe and Kyouko Sakura after Sayaka Miki's death.

She felt sick. Why was it the gruesome memories were always the first to return? Why couldn't it have been the time she was dragged off into the carnival or maybe that time she managed to get into the lead role for her class play with Madoka? A shiver went down her spine and she turned her gaze to her left. A table was placed near her bedside where her red glasses were on top and beside it was a glass of water.

Try as she must, she couldn't stop her hand from trembling, ending up in knocking the glass into the look and shattering it.

That was okay, she wasn't thirsty anyway.

* * *

><p>School was something that had been long since set aside for the bigger picture yet she couldn't afford picking up strange habits from it. Due to the multiple timelines she had jumped through, the repeating lessons and schoolwork had become imprinted in her mind that she knew what lessons the teacher would discuss. She could even recite the lesson plan by heart without as much straining her memory. She had to be perfect, everything had to be perfect… Otherwise she'll only keep on failing.<p>

But maybe that was the problem? Was it because she was too perfect or was it perhaps that she was stubborn? She knew she couldn't stop until she saved Madoka, otherwise she'll break another promise she couldn't keep. She would've smirked at her own pathetic self had she not been paying attention to the lesson that was going on. The last thing she needed was for her established character to crumble from one misstep. That would limit the distance she could cross towards Madoka and would make her look weird.

In the end, she was still that Homura Akemi whom cried and sniffled whenever things didn't go her way.

Four days… That had been the amount of time that had passed since she looped into this timeline. After making the necessary preparations, she had finally been able to attend school normally with little problems. Those problems being reacquiring her apartment as well as making the important documents for her transfer into Mitakihara Middle School. She was still sloppy but if she were to take alternative routes and choices, she might be able to finish just in time for the opening ceremony. She didn't quite like how she was going to be labeled as a delinquent for being absent for the first few days.

Outside her window, the gray clouds rolled overhead. Timelines were inconsistent and could bring up the nastiest surprises. It could range from the simple placement of a stop sign to an early death to a specific individual. She couldn't predict the possible changes but she was assured that there were certain guidelines that the changing timelines followed. For example, familial relationships never changed as well as personalities.

She had yet to encounter a different Sayaka Miki or an odd Mami Tomoe, but if she did then she already had a working theory tucked in the deepest recesses of her mind. It would probably take a major event or influence to change a person's personality and so far, she hadn't caught any anomalies regarding Madoka Kaname's personality as well as Sayaka Miki. At the very least she won't be caught off guard like the last time she encountered a timid Kyouko Sakura.

Now _that_ was a shocker. Even more so when Mami got—

"Is everything all right, Akemi-san?"

She was wrenched out of her reverie and back into reality. Classes were over and it seemed that her quarry had just left the classroom if the flash of pink exiting the room was anything to go by. The one who had spoken to her was the girl at her side giving her a worried look. It seemed that she got caught up with her memories a little bit too much.

Shaking her head, she managed to give her classmate a small smile as she replied, "Nothing's wrong. I was just daydreaming. Am I perhaps on duty today?"

"Oh, no," said her classmate, "Miki-san and Shizuki-san are on duty today so we're all free to go. Well, I better go now I still have club activities. Be careful on your way home, there's a lot of thugs roaming about the area so watch out."

Thugs? Odd, there haven't been any strange incidents until recently. Unless these thugs were sighted before she even looped in the timelines. Another mistake on her part, she had to do better next—

"…." Narrowing her eyes, she noted that her classmate had already left. At the corner of her vision, she noticed Sayaka Miki and Hitomi Shizuki discussing the division of labor of their current task. She had no reason to stick around, if anything, she had to keep an eye on Madoka for at least today. Something about those rumors was unsettling. In the worst case scenario, this could be something brewed by a Witch's Kiss.

"I'll make sure there won't be a next time," she hissed under her breath a she walked out of the classroom.

* * *

><p>It was raining and she had lost track of Madoka. Leaping from building to building, she combed the nearby alleys and streets for any sign of the pink haired girl. She would've thought that Madoka had already gotten home by this time around but it hadn't even been eight minutes since classes ended. Clicking her tongue, she scanned the surrounding areas from the very top of a water tower and sent her consciousness around with her magic.<p>

Feeling the rain against her clothes, she indulged herself for a moment as a cold breeze passed overhead. Unlike other Magi, the art of tracking has never been her strong suit being more proficient when it came to ranged assaults as well as being a support unit should fate deem her luck low enough to pair her with someone who won't probably live in the next three days. Still, she had a knack for locating non-witch targets, this included animals as well as humans yet the range of her scope couldn't have extended more than a couple hundred meters.

"Not enough…" she muttered through gritted teeth, straining her eyesight on the possible roads Madoka would've taken, "Where did she go now?"

She hadn't established the proper connections with the pinkette yet to know her number and contacting her parents and making up a white lie would've led to a series of complicated matters. She shouldn't have lagged behind in the classroom but what surprised her most was that Madoka had managed to evade her during the time she was actively hunting for the pink haired girl. Was it because Madoka already contracted? That didn't seem to be the case since the warm, comforting magical signature which she emitted was absent during the last two days.

Kyubey had certainly expressed his interest on Madoka yet she had already wasted a shotgun shell on his face before he finished his line of thought.

So Madoka evading her through the use of magic was out of the question. That meant that she was simply finding it hard to search for Madoka due to her god awful bad luck. It was raining, she was hungry, she was cold, she was worried sick and she felt utterly helpless. This was turning out to be a fun timeli—

A scream.

She turned around and focused her attention to where it came from. Straining her senses as well as her Soul Gem's magic, she concentrated her consciousness to the source of the scream. A flicker of magic, then a trace… An air of negativity that could only be projected by a Witch's Kiss.

She cursed under her breath and reached within her inventory. Drawing out a long metal golf club, she kicked off the water tower and glided down the roof of a building. Dashing on its rooftop, she planted her heeled shoe on the ground and jumped, using her magically enhanced body to clear a ten meter leap between two separate buildings. She was getting closer. The rain met with her face as her long silky black hair flew behind her.

Not missing a beat she jumped off the final building next to her destination, grabbing unto the edge's rail to keep herself from overextending and promptly falling down unto the street below. Landing in a roll, she stood up and looked around, good thing no one saw her that time otherwise it would've been a pain to deal with. She dashed for the alley, her footsteps splashing water unto the walls at her side while she kept a firm grip on the golf club at her side.

There was another scream and it sent chills down her spine.

"Please be safe, pleas be sa—"Homura Akemi rounded in a corner and bore witness to a rather odd scene.

A bloodied girl with pink hair ran straight into her and threatened to knock her down had she not braced herself. Wrapping her shield arm around the person, she looked down and recognized just who it was. As it turned out, it was the person she was looking for… Madoka Kaname, her uniform caked in blood while her hands and sleeves looked as though they were soaked in the stuff.

She looked up at Homura's lavender eyes, a pleading expression on her face as she sobbed, "P-Please… H-Help me… They're coming… I-I-I don't know why b-but please help me!"

No more wasting time it seemed. She had to get Madoka to safety and deal with the pursuers. However, she had to stabilize the pinkette's mental state first. Gently pushing the shorter girl away, Homura stared into her eyes and spoke in a firm and clear tone, "I'll protect you. You don't need to be afraid anymore."

A look of relief appeared upon Madoka's face before she buried herself unto the other girl's shoulder blades. An odd white hot flame suddenly ignited within the pits of Homura's being. Someone had to be shot for this and while she contemplated shooting her own foot for her stupidity, Homura preferred the culprits to be shot first.

And then there was movement behind her.

A chill went down Homura's spine as every single alarm bells in her body reacted. She got snuck up on and at this position, she couldn't afford to dodge without putting Madoka at risk! She hadn't even activated her magic yet time seemed to have slowed down. Beyond Madoka's back was a number of people shuffling mindlessly towards her direction and she was most certain that there were a group of people on her back as well.

_**SPLASH**_

_Move! _she thought as she was about to force her limbs to comply.

_**SPLASH**_

However, fate seemed to have been having too much fun pulling on her strings. Then by the next moment she found herself on the ground, shoved aside by the person she had sworn to protect a few moments ago.

Homura saw it, the wicked glint of a silver knife making its descent in the hands of a Witch Kissed thug, eager to sink its blade upon the pink haired middle schooler before him. However there were a few things that the time traveler found odd.

The first was the screams earlier… While they were indeed distinctly female and high pitched, they certainly didn't resemble Madoka Kaname's voice one bit. Because of her own daydreaming and worries, Homura failed to notice this until it was too late. The second was the fact that Madoka Kaname was smiling… A calm, serene smile as she turned her head towards Homura. Was she perhaps accepting her fate? At this rate, Homura would have no choice but to fail if she were to die here and the time traveler wasn't having any of that. But the factor which kept this point moot was the third odd thing Homura noticed.

It was the bloodied brass knuckle adorning the pink haired girl's right fist.

Madoka caught the thug's descending wrist by her left hand and kicked in his knee, forcing it to bend and him to kneel down with a grunt. Twisting his hand with practiced movements, she made him drop his knife before striking him across the face with her right fist.

_Maybe…_

Homura watched with a breathless appearance as Madoka raised her right fist bearing the bloodied metal implement wrapped around her fingers. For a moment, the smile on her face faltered and was replaced by a steely determined expression as she proceeded to cave in the thug's face with a brutal right hook. Grabbing the thug by his collar, she didn't let him go before punching him again and again and again and again and again before finally spinning once and hitting him across the face with the heel of her school shoe.

_Just maybe…_

A Witch Kissed civilian lunged forward and made a wild grab for the pinkette but was stopped by a foot to his gut and a brutal blow to the face. Another thug bounded for Madoka and swung his arm. The girl ducked low and made sure to land solid hits on his ribcage and moving back as he reached for her again. She closed in once she saw an opportunity and shot her right arm upwards to deliver and upper cut.

"Madoka!" Homura cried as she stood up and slammed the end of her golf club into an opportunistic thug's face.

_Maybe the blood on Madoka's clothes… weren't even her own…_

The pink haired girl tucked an offending thug's arm under her own and stomped on his knee and forcing him to kneel. With fluid movements, she twisted his arm and punched him across the face with her left just before backing away.

"Nice save," she said cheerfully as she stood back to back with the black haired Magical Girl, "You're really good with a golf club, aren't you, Akemi-san?"

"You…" breathing in to ease her frazzled nerves at the sudden turn of events, Homura closed her eyes for a moment before opening them once more as she replied, "You know me?"

"We're classmates, remember? Don't tell me you've forgotten about me already. I even gave you a tour on your first day!" pointed out Madoka as she wiped a fleck of blood from her face with her already bloody sleeves, smearing the red across her cheek while still maintaining her calm smile, "But I'm really glad you came to my rescue. Almost like a superhero!"

Homura let her gaze fall slightly before gripping her golf club tightly. She wasn't sure how she could react to that. She was something far from being a superhero… She wasn't super and she was most certainly not a hero… That was Sayaka Miki's front and it would be a damn shame if she took that away.

"Madoka Kaname…" she whispered, "You… Just what in the world happened to you..?"

Blinking in confusion, the pink haired girl glanced at the companion she had behind her, "I don't really understand, Akemi-san, but I'm just applying righteous self-defense. Nothing wrong with defending ourselves, yes?"

"Homura…" murmured the black haired Magical Girl, "Call me Homura…"

"Then call me Madoka! It's nice meeting you, Homura-chan!" greeted Madoka a she set her sights upon the approaching Witch Kissed thugs. There were three of them, one female among two males. She could probably take them down if she was quick enough and if she focused on them one by one.

"It's…" Homura looked up ahead and noted the shuffling figures of two thugs wielding a rusted pipe and another knife at her. She smiled as took a step forward, "it's nice to meet you too."

And then they fought.

Refraining from her normal use of firearms, Homura wasn't exactly aiming to kill here. At best, she would have to break a few bones if it meant to neutralize the ones that were kissed by the Witch. She couldn't afford to waste her ammo or magic now on simple humans. And besides, she could easily kill them with just a thought if she wished, she just didn't want to at the moment.

She could never kill a person without feeling sick afterwards.

While normally a range fighter, she certainly was no slouch when it came to close combat. She utilized the defensive function of her metal shield and batted away the pipe strike aimed for her head and swung her golf club with all her might to her left. The force of the impact made the offending thug fly to the wall and slide down on the ground unconscious. This however left her open for the other thug's knife thrust which she barely managed to dodge. She felt the fabric of her costume rip as the knife brushed against her.

Realizing the proximity of her target and herself, she didn't waste any time smashing her shield against the thug's face and sending him stumbling backwards.

Drawing out a black pistol from her inventory, she aimed at the thug's limbs and pulled the trigger a couple of times. The blaring reports of the tranquilizer gun resounded within the alley followed by the sound of bright green darts digging themselves into their mark's flesh.

Dismissing her tranquilizer pistol, she picked her golf club once more and turned around to give aid to Madoka, only to find the person in question in the middle of giving a thug a high kick to the chest while using the arm of another for leverage, promptly breaking said arm as soon as she was on the ground and dislocating the thug's shoulder. Just as the third thug was about to sneak up on her, she caught the Witch Kissed female's clumsy punch and finished her off with an overhead throw into a dumpster.

Sighing tiredly, Madoka Kaname faced the kneeling form of the thug with the arm she had broken and kicked him across the face.

Standing with her clothes stained with the growing crimson on the ground and the wounds of her would be assaulters, the pink haired girl wiped her bloodied face on her shoulder's to get the dirt off her cheeks. The bodies of her enemies lied around her, _her_, a middle school girl no older than anyone in their second year in middle school with blood in her hands and the expression of someone who dealt with events all too similar to the carnage around her almost daily.

Her red ribbons were lying on the ground now, caked in mud and soaked in water, leaving her hair to drip somberly on her back.

And yet despite her appearance, she still smiled at Homura like nothing happened. She smiled and spoke with the same voice which was clear as bells and pure as the rising sun. A radiant aura only known to Madoka Kaname despite the girl in question's appearance.

Her brass knuckle was still dripping with blood not her own.

"Homura-chan… Can you do me a favor..?" she asked as she had her fist clenched, "Looks like my secret's out. Don't tell the rest of the class, okay Homura-chan?"

Homura Akemi was a Magical Girl and she felt as if she had just stumbled upon something ridiculous.

* * *

><p><em>Nicolas Notes: Please rate and review on the way out! I'll be bumping the rating for this if I have TOO much fun writing.<em>


	2. Chapter 2: Kung Fu's Cool Too!

Another timeline gone…

* * *

><p>She felt ridiculous. The scene she just witnessed was ridiculous. She promised herself that nothing would surprise her anymore after all the things she had seen, the death, the suffering, the unspeakable monstrosities which she pitted her fragile mortal life against almost daily while on a seemingly impossible mission but this… This was just stupid. Stupid as well as disturbing. Yes, that was the word she was looking for… Disturbing. It wasn't every day she would see the person she vowed to protect countless of times beat a grown man senseless with a metal implement meant to cave someone's face in.<p>

It was still raining and the tiny tug at the back of her mind told her that she should probably move. The Witch Barrier could still be around and judging from the number of those who had been kissed, it was close. The air of negativity which filled the alleyway was starting to dissipate yet she could still feel her chest tighten from being exposed to it. It wasn't something she should worry about given her constitution as a Magical Girl but she couldn't help but worry for the girl right in front of her.

The girl who had her hands soaked in blood after a lengthy brawl with a bunch of innocent thugs unlucky enough to get kissed by a Witch and cross her path.

Madoka Kaname examined her hand and frowned as she took out a handkerchief from her skirt pocket and wiped most of the grime off. With an annoyed tone, she sighed in defeat as she murmured, "It would've been easier if I used a crowbar. Punching things really gets old."

She watched Madoka complain a bit more about her now bloodstained handkerchief before the girl in question turned to her and addressed her, "Sorry for the bother, Homura-chan but thank you for helping me. I guess I got too careless but rest assured it won't happen again."

"That was dangerous," she had said, ignoring Madoka's statement as her dumbstruck expression broke into a look mixed between worry and anger, "What in the world were think you're doing! You could've gotten yourself killed!"

Flinching at the sudden outburst, the pink haired girl raised her hands in surrender as she backed off, "W-W-Wait H-Homura-chan! It's not what you think! S-Self-defense..?"

"It doesn't matter if it was self-defense, you should've run away!" snapped Homura, dismissing her golf club into her inventory before stomping her way towards Madoka, "This doesn't make any sense! What were you doing in this kind of place? Don't you know it's dangerous? Or did you purposely walk into this area knowing the rumors floating around?!"

Blinking as she studied the Magical Girl's expression, Madoka didn't know what to do. Confusion dominated her look and body language as she tried to find the right words to placate the angry girl before her. She didn't really get why Homura was angry yet she still tried her best to calm her down, "Well… you see… It's sort of complicated. But Homura-chan, please calm down. If I did anything wrong, then I want you to know that I'm sorry. I-I… I didn't m-mean to upset you…"

Right… What the hell was she doing? Right, character. She had to jump back into her character otherwise she'll get attached again. Getting attached meant that the whole plan would be compromised. Now _that_ sour thought was enough to kick her mind back into gear and focus on what was important. First, there was a Witch lurking around and the second was that she had to get Madoka to safety. Questions could wait until she either dealt with the Witch or safely her former friend to a safe location.

Sighing heavily, a grim expression appeared on her face as she held out her hand, "You're right, maybe I did go overboard. I'm sorry for that. However I need you to come with me. It's not safe here. I'll explain further once we leave the area."

Giving the black haired girl a small smile, Madoka shrugged her shoulders as she replied, "I understand. But I'll need to get my bag first. I left it some ways back while I was running. I… I don't know if you could help me get it."

"Asking won't be necessary. I'll get it for you. Just sit tight," Homura didn't wait for the pinkette to reply and grasped the rim of her shield and turned it. The distinct sound of metal scraping against metal filled her ears as the twin blood red orbs on her shield revealed themselves and shined an eerie dark violet glow. Madoka visibly flinched from the sound just before she gained a metallic color along with the rest of the environment.

The entire world held its breath as the flow of time ceased to be.

The rain drops had stopped falling and sky was silent. The only sound that could be heard in this world was Homura's steady breathing and the endless ticking of her shield. Digging her fingers into her hair, she raked them through it with a flourish as she stepped forward, her heels echoing against the looming walls. She took one look at Madoka just as she passed her and noted the shorter girl's appearance. There was going to be a lot of talking once she was done here.

Passing by the bodies of their victims, she noticed that the Witch Kisses had already disappeared before she even initiated her Time Stop. So long as the Witch's Familiars didn't wander out of the Barrier, these people would be able to walk off their injuries on their own. Once she turned into the corner where Madoka ran from, she found herself coming to a halt. Apparently the twelve people which she fought with Madoka weren't the first ones to encounter the pink haired girl.

Thugs lay unconscious on the alley floor, some slumped against the wall with numerous facial traumas and the others were facing the ground, their limbs twisted into odd angles. A few thugs were even dumped into various trash bins and dumpsters when not sleeping on the cold wet floor. None of them were armed and Homura found a few female members among their ranks. She figured these people were a group of delinquents that were unfortunate enough to meet a Witch.

She considered the condition they were in as a blessing in disguise. After all, getting attacked by a pretty pink haired girl was far better than going through the painful transformation from human to Familiar.

She recognized the damp schoolbag carelessly lying on top of a fallen thug's lap. Madoka must've thrown it into his face before cracking his ribcage with a well-placed punch. She still couldn't believe what was going on… Madoka and punching people? There's probably a suitable explanation for this… what was that word? Ah, right.

"Bullshit," she hissed as she took the bag from the ground, letting it regain its color once it came in contact with her skin.

Kyouko Sakura would've aptly described her current predicament as such. Homura wondered what other _'subtle'_ changes had occurred in this timeline. She shouldn't be careless here. It was obvious that big things are about to occur and she felt that no amount of preparation was going to help her.

She made her way back to where Madoka was still frozen in time was at before disengaging her Time Stop.

"I have your bag, it's time to go," she said as she passed the pink haired girl. Hearing the weak reply of thanks, she then came to a halt and looked back, "Do you… Have any spare clothes?"

The shorter girl nodded and said, "I keep a spare in that bag. I think I can change in a comfort room somewhere here. The blood's going to attract some attention."

Homura became silent at that as she began to think. There should be a rest room about a couple minutes away from where they were. With the rain like this, no one should be walking around that much so there were going to be few people who were going to see a bloodied pink haired girl and her oddly dressed friend walking around. At best, people would think that they were cosplaying or something. At worst, they'll be dragged in for questioning since they weren't exactly the most inconspicuous individuals.

A beauty with long black hair and bloody pink haired girl were hard to forget once they were seen.

That, or she could let Madoka change here but she'd rather shoot herself on the foot than suggest that. Why did that thought even cross her mind?

"Follow me, I know where you can change," she had to hurry, otherwise they'll be caught in a Witch's Barrier before she knew it.

"O-O-Okay!" Madoka made sure to follow her as they exited the alleyway.

Thunder rolled up ahead as the clacks the Magical Girl's heels made on the pavement resounded with it in duet. As bitter as she felt about the current weather, that was hard to do with Madoka around. She noted that the girl behind was looking around nervously, fidgeting as she walked and making sure to wipe the blood from her clothes as best she could. Homura slowed down and walked at the other girls pace before offering her hand, a red, dirty ribbon within its grasp.

"You almost forgot this," said the Magical Girl over the loud rainfall. A car passed by on the road at their side yet they didn't pay it any mind.

Madoka seemed to be surprised by this before smiling gratefully, "Thank you. This is the third ribbon I have. Mama would get suspicious if I kept losing them."

"You better take good care of them then." _Kept? Does that mean that this wasn't the first time she did this?_

"I-I'll remember that! Thank you again!" piped up the pink haired girl before the duo fell into another awkward silence. They should be near the restroom now so talking a little bit more wouldn't hurt, "um… You… You might think of me as some sort of weirdo now, huh?"

Homura raised an eyebrow yet didn't so much as looked at her, "I do not. What makes you think that?"

"I'm glad that you don't! But…" Madoka seemed to be troubled by the direction this conversation was taking yet she forged on, "I was afraid that you might think I wasn't normal. People would usually get scared if they saw what I did earlier. But you're different, you even helped me back there!"

"But what you did was still dangerous," pointed out the Magical Girl in a low tone, "That doesn't mean that I approve, but please refrain from doing such things in the future. A lot of people would be worried."

"Oh…" it was here that Madoka's tone changed just a tiny bit, "I… I don't think that's good."

"You mean you've been doing this without even thinking of the consequences?" asked Homura.

"Um, something like that..? Eheh," came the reply.

At this the black haired girl came to a halt and spun to meet her companion, her hair whipping behind her as se frown appeared upon her face. Madoka looked at her with alarm yet the next few words which left her mouth weren't as harsh as expected, "Are you an idiot?"

"M-M-Maybe?" squeaked the pink haired girl before she realized that they had arrived at their destination. Looking up at the women's comfort room sign, she then glanced at the miffed expression Homura giving her before shuffling her feet, "I-it's really hard to explain, H-Homura-chan! C-C-Complicated even! I'm n-not sure if I'm ready yet…"

Narrowing her purple eyes, the Magical Girl then said, "get in and change, I'll keep guard out the stall."

She looked around and found no one following them.

"Let's go," she said as the two of them entered the restroom. Fortunately, it was empty, making them the only people present at the moment. That was good. Great, even. Homura wasn't particularly in the mood to deal with people who asked too much questions. If she were anyone else, then she'd admit that her trigger finger was itching to have a go at someone that wasn't Madoka.

As her companion entered a vacant cubicle and shut the door, Homura walked to a sink and sighed.

Good thing that she still had some self-restraint otherwise she would've shot someone. Not that she'll be shooting anyone anytime soon. Maybe that Witch when it comes but not now. Not when Madoka was still with her. She looked up and saw her own reflection staring back at her. A harried looking girl with long black hair looked back at her, dripping wet with her white costume clinging to her skin. Her silver shield glinted in the dim light above her while her Soul Gem emitted a strange faint glow.

She looked pathetic.

Nothing like that cool and mysterious transfer student which looped into this timeline a few days ago. It was amazing how the smallest inconsistencies could get to her even when she conditioned her own mind to accept these kind of things and move on.

She looked at her reflection for a few more moments before contemplating to rest her eyes. Just as she was about to do so just to regain her focus and composure, the lips of her reflection twitched from the grim look she currently had.

"…." Eyes narrowing, she leaned close to inspect her own face before it happened.

**BOO!**

Something purple flashed in the mirror and she found herself with her back against the door of a cubicle.

"Homura-chan?" called Madoka's voice from one of the stalls, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Don't worry," she breathed back as she swallowed hard on the lump in her throat. Yep, maybe she should get some well-deserved rest after this. She briefly inspected her Soul Gem and found a slight murk floating within it. Nothing… Everything was okay. She shook her head and sighed. Everything was okay. She'll be fine. It was just her imagination running wild again. Standing up a little bit straighter, she pressed her back against a stall and calmed her nerves.

"So do you mind explaining now?" she queried as she took interest on the tiled floor, her deadpan tone echoing within the restroom. She noted that the rain wasn't going to be letting up soon so she figured they should stay put until it subside. That, or she would have to drag Madoka through her Time Stop and dropping her off at the Kaname household.

There was a rustling of clothing from Madoka's stall before a reply came out, "I-I-I told y-you Homura-chan, it's complicated but I'll try my best. Y-You see… It isn't really a-a topic I could talk about freely."

"Did someone tell you to keep it a secret?" already, Homura's mind was active with all sorts of theories which led to Madoka's current state.

"Of course not. It's more of a personal matter. Kinda like o-one of those topics… you talk about with someone y-you're going to m-m-marry," the pinkette faltered here and it obvious that she was embarrassed. One could almost imagine the beet red face she currently had behind the bathroom stalls.

Now at this, Homura raised both of her eyebrows in surprise. This Madoka was turning out to be getting weirder by the passing second. While being an absolute demon in combat, she turned out to be the same Madoka Kaname in the past timelines. There were irregularities in her existence yet at the very core, she was still the girl Homura knew and vowed to protect.

The Magical Girl felt relieved knowing this fact yet her questioning didn't stop there.

"I see. Then what c_an_ you tell me? I assume that you already know that I'm going to ask you questions and that you have some of your own," she glanced at her shield before continuing, "However if you're to keep silent, then I'll have to respect that but in return, you won't be asking me either."

"I'm fine discussing it, really. I-I don't really see a problem… besides, I'm curious too," said Madoka.

"So why were you in a place like that?" twirling a wet lock of her hair, the Magical Girl stared at the restroom's entrance absentmindedly.

"I was investigating. You're right, it's a dangerous thing to do but it wasn't the first time I've done it. Still, that doesn't mean that there aren't any more dangers. I guess I pretty much walked into that one."

"So you went there on your own volition," Homura bit her tongue there. She didn't want to chastise Madoka again and make her cow. Baby steps, she had to keep her head cool, "Why? And how many times have exactly done this?"

"…. Six times. Four which ended up in me getting into fights. Sometimes I end up following a dead trail with no merit at the end. This is my sixth actually, so the fight earlier was clearly my fourth. It's not really that scary."

"Anyone else would've used their common sense instead of taking on a couple dozen people unarmed," muttered the Magical Girl and she could hear the other girl wincing. She ignored this and brought up the first question again, "So why exactly?"

"I… I wanted to help," replied Madoka, her voice trembling with every word, "Things…. Things are happening in town. Like disappearances, spontaneous outbursts in public, group suicides and a whole lot more. I didn't like how these things were happening around me and people get hurt every day without others knowing. So I tried doing something about it."

"And you learned to fight because of this?"

"No, fighting's something I have a knack for. I never admitted it and kept it a secret. It's just something I use for self-defense. No one gets hurt if they don't try to hurt me. Mama always said that a strong girl could always fight for herself when the time called for it."

"I see. So you've been looking into these… strange events?"

"None of them felt normal so I sort of researched them as a hobby. Once in a while, I'd go out to hotspots around town and see what's going on. They usually happen when it rains. It's… something really sad, you see. They've been happening for months, you know? And it only looks like things are only going to get worse. Like some sort of heavy feeling is hanging in the air… It worries me. And every single time I encounter these people, like the ones we fought? They had marks."

Homura felt an acid like feeling swirl in her stomach. _Witch's Kiss…._

"On their necks… Various places in the body. I never really got a closer look on these marks since they fade away. Almost like magic. I don't know, but these marks seem to be connected to what's happening around Mitakihara so I wanted to find out. I wanted to see why this was happening…"

"And if you knew what was going on, what would you do?" questioned the black haired girl, fearing and already knowing the answer.

And yet still, the reply came. She imagined the pink haired girl smiling warmly behind one the stalls, "I'll help them. I mean, that's common sense, right?"

_So she's the same as the rest after all, _thought Homura as she crossed her arms and sighed, "I see…"

"What about you, Homura-chan? It feels like I'm in some kind of anime, you know?" a giggle here, "I mean, a mysterious transfer student, all cool and athletic… Real pretty too… And then it suddenly turns out that she's a superhero! Saving me when I'm in a pinch too!"

Homura would've chuckled at that but she didn't. Instead, she set her jaw straight and thought long and hard. The silence threatened to engulf the restroom once more with only the sounds of clothes rustling bouncing off the walls. Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, she finally spoke, "I know about what's going on."

_**BANG**_

Jumping in surprise, the Magical Girl eyed the other girls cubicle warily.

"Ow, ow, ow…"whimpered Madoka from behind the stall before replying, "I'm okay! You… You just surprised me, that's all. but, what did you mean b-by that? A-As far as I know, there aren't that much information about… what's happening. So how..?"

"I'm telling you the truth because I'm a walking proof. You Have seen what I can do, yes? Of what I'm capable of?" Homura felt as though she'll regret this sooner or later, "That's because I'm in the thick of it, at the very center of the conflict. I can tell you, however I want you to promise me something."

"W-What is it?" echoed the other girl's trembling tone.

"Promise me that you won't throw your life away for something stupid," murmured the Magical Girl as she lowered her gaze, a heavy weight weighing in her heart, "That's important, otherwise I can't trust you with this information. Normally, I would be all for keeping you in the dark but for formality's sake, I'm willing to give you the Disney version of the situation. Do I have your word?"

Silence… And then the distinct sound of Madoka agreeing, albeit reluctantly, "I promise. So Please, tell me what you know."

Nodding, Homura then crossed her arms and explained, "The people whom attacked you were the victims of a Witch. A Witch is a being born from despair, curses and grief. It lives off the negativity of human beings and ravages this world with its hate. They're invisible to the normal human being but to me, to us Magical Girls, they're always there. My kind, or at least others of my profession, are tasked to dealing with them. Those people earlier have been kissed by a Witch, which was why they bore those Marks on their necks and limbs. Once they have those Marks then they'll be under the Witch's influence."

"Meaning… That the Witch was using the suicides as a… scare tactic? To spread despair?" asked Madoka.

"Something like that. With the population at unrest then the number of Witches will increase… And when the number of Witches increase, then a disaster's bound to happen," Homura made a face her as she recalled that damnable horror laughing its twisted laugh as it descended from the sky, "With the amount of Witches in Mitakihara, it's only a matter of time before something big arrives."

"Magical Girls… Witches…" the restroom stall's door opened and out came Madoka, dressed in a fresh set of blouse and skirt with all the grime on her body wiped away. She had a complex look on her face which was reflected in the mirror before her, "It's… Surprising, really."

"I'm a Magical Girl. Look," the black haired girl gestured to her shield and drew out a shotgun. An Ithaca M17, almost as long as her arm and twice as heavy for a normal Middle School girl yet for a Magical Girl such as herself, it was light as a feather. Flipping it so that the barrel would face her, she offered the gun's grip towards the shorter girl, "It's real but it's not loaded. Brace yourself, it's heavy."

Nervously grasping the cold black metal tool of murder, it was surprising to see a girl of Madoka's stature holding such a menacing weapon. But then again, Homura was a girl of the same age and yet she had enough arsenal in her person to take on an entire country. The pink haired girl examined the weapon in her hands, showing no signs of strain from its unique weight before handing it back to the Magical Girl whom promptly dismissed it in her shield.

"That's… That's amazing. With that kind of power, you could probably save a lot of people, Homura-chan!" piped up Madoka, her eyes sparkling with a strange glint as she smiled excitedly.

Shaking her head, the black haired girl spoke the opposite of the shorter girl's expectations, "I'm sorry, but it's more complicated than that. Being a Magical Girl isn't as simple or as luxurious as you think. Please remember that. People die a whole lot more than they're saved…"

The smiled fading from her lips, Madoka's shoulders slumped as she murmured in disappointment, "Oh… So… Does that mean Homura-chan's seen people die."

That wasn't a question.

_I've seen you die more times than I would've liked_, thought Homura yet she bit her tongue. Of course she wasn't going to say that, she wasn't retarded or anything. Baby-steps… No need to overload the poor girl with more information than necessary. Convincing her to stop to these investigations was going to be hard but at least Homura was making progress.

Hopefully.

"Yes," she answered, "I couldn't save them even with all I had."

Warmth immediately spread on her hands once she found them being grasped by the pink haired girl right in front of her. Madoka's round pink eyes stared at her own purple ones as the human girl spoke, her tone laced with overflowing gratitude and sincerity, "But you saved me, didn't you? I hope _that_ counts for something. Maybe things will be different this time."

"Maybe," muttered Homura, a small smile of her own appearing as she nodded, "Thank you."

And then the Witch Barrier swallowed them both whole.

* * *

><p>She wasn't particularly lucky today. Just this morning, she lost the file which composed much of her research and investigation notes once her computer shorted out leaving a crying mess for the better half of the first thirty minutes of her awakening. She then had half of her mind just slumping into her bed and going to sleep but then her brother just had to be so adorable so early and the morning in an attempt to wake her up. That and not to mention that the boiler broke just when she was about to shower too.<p>

Meeting up with Sayaka and Hitomi went well. No incidents or slip ups until they were nearing the school and Sayaka was busy telling Hitomi a joke. She listened to the conversation while sipping an orange juice she took with her after leaving home but once the punch line came in, the juice flew out of her nose just as she was about to burst out laughing. She got a very painful headache from that.

After that, school thankfully passed without much incident and she was hoping to have a good hunt with what information she managed to salvage from her lost files. Her computer was going to need fixing but her mother assured her that it'll be repaired by a few days, at the cost of all the documents she gathered in the hard drive. Just when she was about to find the strange gathering sites for the suicide groups, it began to rain and then she suddenly found herself surrounded by a two dozen thugs. It would've been fine if they were normal thugs looking for a fight, she would've easily dealt with them.

But the world seemed to hate her and decided to hang a literal air of gloom which drained her spirit and morale. Her movements were sluggish and weak while her head felt like it was about crack open like a watermelon. Fighting in her condition put her at a considerable disadvantage and kept her from holding back. This resulted into heavy blunt trauma being applied to a few unlucky thugs' face.

Escaping with a few cuts and hits, she then to cut her losses and bail out but this was the part where it got weird. A girl with striking resemblance to an angel bumped into her just as she was about to run into a corner. This girl didn't hesitate helping her in neutralizing the remaining thugs and making sure they all stayed down.

She felt like she made a new friend that time but just as she was about to celebrate the newfound information she had gathered as well as the discovery of something grand, she felt like she won't even live by the next hour to write it all down in her notes.

Because for all her natural talent for combat, Madoka Kaname was a very, very unlucky girl. And she was going to die in just a few more seconds.

For a split second, all sound had ceased to be. It wasn't something that happened gradually, it was like it just happened. Like her ears had stopped working properly. Fear clamped down on her heart once she realized she couldn't see too, the lack of senses nearly sent her into a panic attack had her hand not been being held by someone. A person's hand… It was warm, it gave her strength, it kept her together just as she was about to break down… again…

She didn't have her mother to support her, Sayaka to cheer her up, her father to assure her and brother to brighten up her day…. She was… alone… yet the touch of the stranger she grabbed on for dear life lit a fire in her heart.

And then the world came into view once more, but not as she knew it. She planted on foot in front of her to stop herself from falling face first into the ground and immediately, a strange wave of nausea threatened to overwhelm her. No, she was _not_ going to throw up Hitomi and Sayaka's lunch. She was _not_ going to do something she considered disgusting beyond all recognition. That lunch was made by her friends, and she'll be damned if she didn't force the bile down her stomach.

Surveying her surroundings, she found herself standing on a multicolored carpet, the bright color of green red and orange stinging her eyes. Above her were large oddly shaped baubles attached to thin strings, twitching every few seconds as they swayed. She was somewhere outside, a deserted landscape in a painfully colored world. Apparently, while the landscape seemed to go on forever, the sky above turned out to be a very low ceiling in which the baubles were attached to.

She counted them as she walked, one, two, three, four, five and whole lot more. A brief flash of pain invaded her mind and made her flinch, causing her to grasp her head. It was just like that time when she faced those thugs. The same draining feeling and sluggishness entering her entire body. She couldn't block it out, she had no means of blocking it out.

Just… Where was she..?

"Homura…chan…" murmuring the Magical Girl's name, she grabbed hold of that fleeting thought in her mind and forced herself to be steady. She focused and controlled her breathing. She's fighting… She's always fighting… Even when she had no opponent determined to hurt her, she had to pretend that she was defending herself. But from what? In a place where only she existed, what would she defend herself from?

_Get a grip, Madoka Kaname. It's happening again! _ She thought as she slapped her cheeks to clear her mind. With a determined look, she reached for the brass knuckle she kept hidden in her skirt pocket and wore it in her right hand. The familiar weight of the metal in her hand eased her mind and lifted some of the weight she had been feeling off her shoulders. She could breathe easily now…

But just as she could breathe easily, she found out that she could see better too. Not entirely a good thing due to the fact that she could now see a swirling mass of formless blobs gather right in front of her eyes. It took the form of a white polo-shirt with a grinning mouth decorating its front while a pair of two dimensional limbs sprouted from underneath the shirt's hem. They were hands carved out of a pencil.

The creature did not have any recognizable arms yet on the area where its head should be were two floating black orbs, almost like dots.

It lumbered around for a few moments before jerking its entire frame her. The neat set of shining human teeth on its front grinned evilly before it suddenly burst towards her direction. There was flash of black light narrowly missing her head, causing a thin cut to appear on her cheek as blood flowed down her chin.

She was going to die.

"No," she ducked low and closed in the Familiar as it was about to raise its pencil feet to strike once more.

She was not going to die without a fight. Reaching backwards, she stomped one foot on the ground and swung her right fist and put her entire body weight into one solid punch which connected with the creature's body. She hit it, yet the recoil of her blow was sent back into her arm, making her limb go numb as she looked up to see the Familiar's dot-like eyes gaze intently at her. With a squeak, she didn't have enough time to retreat when she felt a blunt impact hit her at her side and send her flying.

Rolling and tumbling along the ground, Madoka grunted in pain and whimpered pathetically once she came to a halt. Breathing hard, she tried to push herself up but only found the Familiar dashing its way towards her, its intent to kill could be felt all the way to where she was. Clicking her tongue, she rose up to meet her opponent and let out a high pitched war cry once she closed in. She ducked low avoiding two strikes before rising up and sending a couple direct hits into its frame before kicking to her left to avoid being speared by its limbs.

She ducked once more and punched hard, her brass knuckle digging into the Familiar's body and leaving traumatized imprints which quickly healed as soon as the impact disappeared. That was strange, yet that didn't mean the thing wasn't unkillable. Her entire body felt like it was on fire, her blood turned into molten steel as her natural instinct to run and cry fought against her will to beat this perverse mockery of life into a pulp.

_Defend. Defend. This is just self-defense. There's nothing wrong with self-defense!_ She screamed internally before letting out a strangled yell as she dodged and countered. She was getting cut up, fresh wounds piercing her soft flesh as blood was flicked to the ground. The thing was mocking her, it was mocking her as it hurt her.

Crouching low, she kicked off behind her and charged forward, hitting the Familiar with both of her arms to stun it before giving it a high kick to its torso. Her eyes were fixed upon the healing area on the creature's body and aimed her punches there. With each hit, the Familiar staggered and redoubled its effort to kill the silly girl that was trying to kill it back.

It sent out one pencil lead limb to pierce the girl but missed spectacularly as she jumped back. In the split second, Madoka closed in, sent two punches into the area she had damaged the most, ducked low to avoid a swipe which would've bisected her and kneed the same area again before punching it one last time and sending the Familiar stumbling backwards.

Madoka breathed hard as she bent her body to catch her breath. With each blow applied to a part of its body, the Familiar's healing ability would have a much harder time constructing repairs given the amount of damage. So if she kept it up, then it was possible for her to take it down. After all, this was just _self-defense_, right?

She tackled the monster down, bearing upon it as she raised her fist and brought it unto the spot she had been pummeling for the last thirty seconds. The Familiar squealed and its grinning lips, turned into a frown as a purple colored stain began to spread on its left chest. It tried to pry the girl off of its body but was stopped once it found its pencil legs blown off. There was another girl at the distance, holding a rifle of some sorts as she approached running, yelling something that was lost over the chorus o

The pink haired demon on its torso was still in the middle of her assault. Punch after punch, a fleshy squelch could be heard on the monster's hide as the brass knuckle rose and fell.

Finally, after a few more moments, the creature had stopped moving and Homura Akemi had finally reached her side. Even as the monster was already dead, she continued punching it just to make sure. Otherwise it would attack her, other-wise it would attack Homura too… It had to die… It had to die… It had to di—

_**BANG**_

With the gunshot echoing all around, Madoka Kaname found herself wrenched out of her trance. She was hurt all over, wounds and lacerations decorating her arms and legs… Judging the stinging pain on her cheek, her face seemed to be cut up too. It seemed that her brand new uniform was ruined… again… And it was even a few minutes in after she changed.

Homura was silent yet she grabbed her by the waist and dragged her away from the monster's body. The Magical Girl shook, her voice barely reaching Madoka's ears even when they were so close, her arm wrapping around the shorter girl in a tight embrace.

"..op! Stop! Madoka Kaname! This isn't you! Stop, you're hurting yourself! Madoka!" snapped Homura through gritted teeth as she locked the pink haired girl's arms in place.

She hadn't realized that she was angry, angry enough to struggle from within the black haired girl's grasp. Breathing hard, she eventually lost the brief burst of strength at the prospect of losing her life and fell limp within her friend's arms. She felt tired, her right arm was sore and the wounds she had gathered were beginning to itch. After a few more moments of catching her breath, she raised one trembling hand and grasped the Magical Girl's hand.

"I-I-I'm fine… B-But it h-hurts… so much…" she managed to croak though the girl behind her refused to let her go just yet.

Homura's breathing was ragged, fear evident in her tone as if she was the one who had a close encounter with death itself while she held Madoka, "No. No. Not again."

"You can let go now, Homura-chan. Th-There doesn't seem to be anymore monsters around. What… W-What was that?" trying to keep her mind someplace else, Madoka asked the question she had failed to address once the strange events began to occur. Honestly, what in God's green Earth was that thing?

The Magical Girl refused to respond and merely stood up, offering a hand to her which she gratefully took. Standing unsteadily, she turned her gaze towards Homura and asked once more, "What's wrong, Homura-chan? What is this place?"

"We have to go. We need to escape," growled the black haired girl before taking her friend by the hand, "Follow me, we'll find an exit."

Despite the scratches and cuts she had, Madoka merely nodded as she followed the Magical Girl from behind. They ran through the rainbow floored landscape, occasionally finding things like doors and oversized everyday items as they passed. Just as she was about ask her Magical companion about nature of this objects, she was met with sharp admonishment and a sharp look. Well, she couldn't blame Homura for acting that way, after all even she would be on the edge of her nerves at a place like this.

Not to mention she almost died. Maybe her bad luck had nothing to do with that and it's was just her usual stupidity in the works.

…

Yeah, maybe it's because she was being stupid again.

Still, she pretended she didn't notice but she knew they were there. Peeking behind the odd objects, their blank dot eyes staring intently at the two girls foolish enough to be swallowed by their Mistress' Barrier. They watched and watched and the set of teeth upon the front of their shirts grinned gleefully as the two girls ran.

She was scared but she knew that being scared wouldn't help her in this situation. Instead, she tried to keep her eyes and ears open, her five senses working on overdrive to pick up on any subtle movements coming their way. But it seemed that Homura's senses were even sharper than hers.

"Get back!" barked the Magical Girl as she came to a halt, shoving Madoka to the left as a pencil lead the size of a pole shot out from the white void. It stabbed itself into the ground where the two were running earlier on, nearly skewering them had Homura not seen the thing a mile off.

And then the Familiars appeared to attack.

"T-There's more?!" cried Madoka as she got behind the Magical Girl. Said Magical Girl being busy drawing out a Minimi from her shield and setting it up in her arms.

Glancing back, she then snapped one order to her companion, "Shut your ears, I'm going in loud!"

"Wha—" the rest of the pink haired girl's question was then drowned in a raucous series of gunfire as the machine gun spat bullets at the incoming horde.

Monsters were shredded and their inky black blood sprayed on the ground before their bodies dissolved into nothingness. Homura kept a firm grip and a stiff stance to fight against the ungodly recoil the gun had been giving her. For a weapon meant for use by a full grown man, one might imagine the difficulty of handling such a weapon with the body frame of a Middle School girl. Even with her magically enhanced strength, she could never get a comfortable grip of the gun.

About ten seconds later, the first wave of familiars had been dealt with just in time for Homura to run out of ammo. Tossing the spent firearm to the side, she took hold of Madoka's hand once more and ran.

"There's more of them lurking around," hissed Homura as their footsteps echoed all round, "Please bear with me for a few more seconds."

"I'm used to it. Thank you for protecting me," she said as she cracked a pained smile, making Homura's shoulder stiffen for a moment before relaxing.

"Used to it?" questioned the Magical Girl.

"You'd be surprised on the amount of bad luck I have," giggled Madoka.

"Bad luck, is it?" murmured Homura with a frown before tensing and raising her shield, "Get do—"

Another pole sized lead burst from the white void in the low sky, this time catching both girls off guard more so than the first one. By the time the time traveler had too notice of it, it was already flying mid-away from its launch point. Homura had no choice but to block it with her shield.

She on the other hand was roughly tossed aside once more so she could do nothing but watch as the beautiful silver disk shatter into a hundred pieces while the lead pole struck the Magical Girl's heart. To her, it seemed like the entire world began to slow down as the light in Homura's eyes dimmed before fading as she fell. Blood decorated the painfully bright floor just as the black haired girl crashed into a bloody heap, red liquid gathering under her lifeless body as she lay there.

Homura Akemi was dead.

Sitting on the ground, she could do nothing but stare in horror at what just happened. It wasn't supposed to be this way.

She stood up from where she was and dashed for her fallen friend's corpse, her hand raised as she screamed out the Magical Girl's name, "HOMURA!"

Madoka Kaname was a girl with horrible luck and she just watched her newest friend die in front of her.

* * *

><p><em>Nicolas Notes: Yeah. That happened. Witches are weird. Rate and review please!<em>


	3. Chapter 3: Movies Are Bad Influence

Another timeline gone…

* * *

><p>She died. She died… An eight foot long sharp spear pierced her heart, her shield <em>and<em> her Soul Gem. By all accounts, she was supposed to be dead, gone, erased. But here she was, lying on the same spot she found herself once she entered this Barrier. Upon realizing this, she sat up with a jolt, a Beretta falling out of her shield and into her hand, its safety switched off while she swept the area for any Familiars out to kill her. She was on her own, all alone just like last time…

"What in the world..?" she murmured before standing up on her shaking legs.

Death was something she was comfortable staring at five inches away from her face but to actually experience it did things to her mind that she never thought was possible. Cold, unrelenting fear wrapped around her mind and nearly suffocated her, almost convincing her mind that she really was dead.

She was aware that the destruction of one's Soul Gem was a Magical Girl's ultimate death other than the transformation into a Witch. Seeing the event unfold with her own eyes almost made her give up. Her suffering should've ended at that moment but something held her back… Yes, dying there would've meant leaving Madoka to die with her and that was something she did not find acceptable.

But in all seriousness, what just happened? Barriers tended to have different sorts of gimmicks to efficiently kill anyone, human or Magical girl, and consume them. That was what made Witch Barriers so dangerous due to the fact that they were never consistent, never the same, the only thing one learning from them was that they were always going to try and kill you no matter what you did. She had survived, witnessed and experienced different sorts of traps when exploring Barriers in all of the timelines she had come across and it took her a moment to realize that everything that just happened was just an illusion.

Of course Madoka doesn't know that.

With that thought securely placed in her head, she dashed off the same direction she went the last time. If dying back then meant that she would be relocated back to where she had woken up then Madoka should be where she had left her. Of course, that could also mean with her death, _their_ 'deaths', that Madoka would also be sent back to where she started. But why would that be? Witches fed of human beings or turned them into Familiars so why would it go this far or construct a Barrier like this?

Familiars are made once humans have come in contact with a Witch or are absorbed by the Barrier. But how did that process occur again? Kyubey should know but the farther that little bastard mutant cat was away, the better. It would be a waste of ammo to shoot him every time she met him. Nevertheless, the result of dying left her a bit more drained than usual. With a wary look, she checked her Soul gem and was surprised that it had now turned muddy black.

The last time she checked it was an hour ago and it wasn't this dark back then. That meant if she were to die the next time, then she'd sooner turn into a Witch once her Soul Gem reached its limit. But if that were the case, then this Witch would've done the same to other Magical Girls. If other Magical Girls were to turn into a Witch in another Witch's Barrier then that would mean…

"Fusion…" dread washed over her as he continued to run; eventually coming across the same pink door she went through last time, "This is turning into a more complex situation that I thought. Engaging the Witch would be considered low priority for now. Finding Madoka takes priority."

Passing through the door, she finally arrived at where she supposedly died. Technically, she died a few hundred meters from where the door was but this was also the place where she found Madoka beating a Familiar with a brass knuckle out of all things with a few cuts on her face and arms.

She will never get used to the sight of Madoka doing something so… barbaric…

But as she scanned the surrounding area, she found no sign of the pink haired girl anywhere. Just as panic began to make itself know at the very pit of her stomach, she tried to keep a cool head and track her down with her Soul Gem's pulse. The reception would be pretty bad due to the Barrier's interference but it was worth a try. She just hoped that the landscape hasn't shifted just yet, Barriers tend to be the most unpredictable places to be in and if just being inside could do unspeakable horrors to a Magical Girl's mind then what were the chances of it affecting Madoka badly?

Recalling the usually cheery and gentle girl she vowed to protect beat up a Familiar pointed her to the answer. Barrier Effects…

Swallowing down the lump forming in her throat, she kept the gun in her hand at the ready while properly performing trigger discipline to prevent accidental misfires. She pulsed her Gem once more to get reading of Madoka's location and fortunately for her there was a response some ways to her east. The downside of it was the trio of Familiars lurking around, one headed her way with ill intent.

She died once so she wasn't about to make the same mistake again. Aiming high, she strummed her Beretta's trigger and punched four holes into the monster's body before it stopped moving. The resulting gunfire alerted the other two Familiars yet they didn't even have the chance to react before a well-placed rifle round tore through their bodies. Lowering her sniper, she continued her charge towards finding Madoka, not even sparing a glance to the fallen Familiars.

A light tremor passed through the ground and a number of objects appeared as they rose from the multi-colored floor.

The shift was already happening. Pulsing with her Gem once more, she found out that she was getting closer to where Madoka was. A few more Familiars obstructed her path though she made quick work of them by dealing with them with just one bullet. No sense in wasting valuable ammo. She'd hate to spend a school day raiding the military base again.

Kicking off the ground, she landed on top of a particularly large replica of a cellphone. Scanning the ground, there was still no sign of Madoka. However she did find a particularly large group of Familiars lumbering about. Somehow, a shiver ran down her spine and she found herself jumping off the phone with her eyes fixed on the spot she once stood on. She watched as the lead javelin whizzed past above her and hit a stray Familiar down below.

Cursing under her breath, she retrieved a pair of sub-machine guns from her shield and landed into a crouch. She didn't waste any time giving the monster the day to react and proceeded to shred them with a hail of bullets as she walked to the center. They all fell laughing at her as they were riddled with numerous holes and gunshot wounds, not a single one of them even touching her. Another chill sent the hairs at the back of her neck to stand and she dived wildly to the side to dodge a particularly sneak javelin.

She had to two options at the moment. The first was to run and keep searching for Madoka someplace else… Or.

She could investigate the manhole at the center of the clearing she just cleaned up. Either way, it seemed that the Witch was intent on making her play its game. Firing off a few stream of bullets at the sky in spite, she then bolted towards the sewer drain and pried the lid off. Jumping in without hesitation, she plummeted downwards, hopefully to where Madoka was at the moment. But then gravity and physics decided to flip her off and send her back up again.

Hitting the ceiling hard, she let out a pained groan once she had her body pressed against it. But then she realized she wasn't being pushed on the ceiling but was lying on cold hard solid ground. The resulting landing sent her into a daze. Right… A Barrier was an isolated dimension under the absolute control of the Witch. Couldn't forget about that part.

Sighing sharply, she pulsed her Gem one last time and found a firm and concrete trace of Madoka just around her. And then she was suddenly tackled to the ground a blur of pink and yellow.

"You're okay! You're okay! You're okay!" sobbed Madoka, tears in her eyes and a little bit more disheveled than she was earlier. However this time, she bore no wounds or cuts she had accumulated from her scuffle with one Familiar earlier. Though she did look a bit more tired than usual, "I thought I lost you! I really thought I lost you!"

"W-W-Wait! Kaname-san! Please, I need to move—" she protested as she tried to pry off the tearful girl before her. She had to admit, this kind of felt nice but her attention was then caught by the sight of a group of monsters headed their way.

Moving a bit from her, Madoka looked at her in the eye and relayed the current situation, "Being chased. Please help."

"Way ahead of you," she murmured as she activated her Time Stop, the gears of her shield exposing themselves as the blood red orbs on its surface shined an eerie crimson glow, "Grab hold."

Complying, Madoka grasped her hand on the Magical Girl's shoulders just as said girl drew out another sub-machine gun from her shield. The flow of time was once more subjected to the will of a lone Magical Girl, causing the entire world to freeze in place as a metallic color enveloped everything save for herself and the human girl hugging her from behind.

Being a firm believer that conserving ammo was the best course of action at times before fighting anything huge, powerful and over all deadly, she set her weapon to controlled bursts and made sure to actually hit something instead of carelessly spraying bullets everywhere. With the help of her Time Stop keeping her targets stationary, she just had to make sure she applied enough bullets to take each Familiar down. As soon as the bullets left her gun, they froze in mid-air all ahead towards their designated targets.

Once this was done, she lowered her sub-machine gun and patted Madoka's hand on her shoulder, "Let's go. We're getting out of here."

The very least she could do was escape while her Time Stop was still active. It couldn't be more than a few more minutes before her Soul Gem reaches critical but she had enough Grief Seeds for a proper cleansing.

Nodding, Madoka gestured to the opposite path to their right.

This side of the Witch's Barrier was the complete opposite of the side she had woken up to after dying. It was dark, devoid of the bright colors which made up most of the ground. The objects which where bolted on the ground were far more sinister and the colorful baubles were replaced with the sight of the number zero dripping with black ink.

They passed a set of mirrors before stopping to rest once Madoka voiced her exhaustion. Keeping an alert mind, the Magical Girl stood on guard while her companion caught her breath. She was _not _going to die again, not this time. Sparing a glance at the pink haired girl, she couldn't help but a feel a little bit guilty. She wasn't even a week into this timeline and Madoka was already in danger to this extent.

"I'm sorry," she muttered over the clicking of her shield, "But this is the true heart of the matter you're investigating."

"Really? I thought it was just my bad luck acting up again, hahaha!" Madoka nervously laughed as she held her sides. After a few more moments, she stood up a little straighter while keeping one hand on the Magical Girl's sleeve, "I died too after you did."

Her eyebrow shooting up from that piece of information, the Magical Girl didn't really know how to react to that. Of course, it reminded her of her own stupidity but maybe the thought hadn't even registered in her mind yet in the grand scheme of things.

"How..?" she blurted out while in the middle of her own thoughts.

Madoka shuffled her feet at this and awkwardly replied, "Uh… I got… speared too. Not long after you did. Woke up where I started out from when the entire place suddenly… changed."

"Oh…" of course that was the kind of answer she was going to get. What did she expect?

"I'm going to have nightmares and panic attacks after this, aren't I?" asked the shorter girl with a helpless smile.

She turned to look at the girl she vowed to protect, the same girl whom gave her the drive to become what she was in the first place. She gazed long and hard at those round pink eyes, studying them intently as she gathered her thoughts. Madoka Kaname was someone she respected and cared for even all throughout the timelines she had looped in. Madoka was strong, stronger than she thought she was and very kind. But she was also human…

Humans had the natural instinct to fear, to run, and to hide from the sight of danger in an act to preserve their own life. It was normal for a Middle School girl to be afraid, to cry, and to beg for help when all seemed helpless… Once upon a time, Homura was just like that too. Timid, shy, weak, but she got over that fact once she fought for what could be years. But this Madoka… This Madoka reminded her of herself. Not the girl who was too scared to even hit a Familiar with a golf club… But the girl she had become after suffering so much.

This Madoka knew more than any other Madoka from the previous timelines, making her different, an anomaly… She was strong in a different perspective, therefore giving her and Homura sort of connection. Kindred spirits? She would've chuckled if not for the fact that she was vulnerable to dying once again. She could think about this once she was sure she was going to make it out alive.

Finally, she broke her gaze and took a look to somewhere to her right and replied, "For the first few days, yes. I'm going to assume that being pitted against a large number of armed individuals and coming out with only minor bruises, this would be something you could shrug off. But still, I couldn't help but be curious as to how you ended up the way you are."

"It's a sensitive topic, Homura-chan," Madoka reminded gently.

"Did something bad happen in your life perhaps?" she hazard a guess while looking once more into those pink eyes, "It's only been a few days so I can't tell what you've been through, but I'm currently concerned of your mental state seeing as you've recklessly engaged something that could've killed you awhile back… Barring the fact that you've already died once in this Barrier. Maybe telling me could allow me to gauge your reactions and keep you from doing something that would compromise our current situation. I'm going to protect you seeing that I dragged you into this and I'm going to see it through that you make it out here alive."

Blinking as she was taken aback by this statement, Madoka lowered her gaze to her feet.

Seeing the shorter girl's reaction, she decided not to press further and instead get ready to disengage her shield, however a hand then firmly placed itself on her silver metal disk. Glancing back once more, she found Madoka sighing lightly.

"Nothing bad happened," began the girl, working up the courage as she continued in a rather somber tone, "Nothing bad happened to me and I'm quite sure this is as bad as it could get. I know where you're coming from and I understand what you're thinking, Homura-chan. But don't worry, I'm all right. Maybe I've been watching too much movies that it's been a bad influence."

Raising an eyebrow, she couldn't help but ask even if it was just to sate her curiosity, "Movies?"

"I like kung fu movies," giggled Madoka, her eyes lifting up to look at the metallic heavens while within the Time Stop, "They're entertaining, almost educational for someone like me. Some people would even get surprised when I admit that I like that kind of stuff. I never really get why they think it's weird. I mean, everyone's entitled to do what they want yes? Given that it's within reason."

"From my perspective, I don't believe applying the things you learn in movies into real life is 'within reason'," pointed out the Magical Girl in a deadpan, "but if that's the case…"

"Then you realize that there's nothing particularly wrong with my life, hm?" the pink haired girl swayed where she stood as she continued, "I have a loving mother, a caring father, a brother who'd greet me when I come home and friends who'll look out for me. And yet here I am, flirting with death. I mean, even before coming here, I'm risking my life once a week putting my nose where it shouldn't be. I think that the problem doesn't lie in how my life goes but in who I am. I'm pretty stupid sometimes."

Allowing herself a small smile, she then used the hand holding her gun and ruffled the other girl's head a bit, "That's an understatement and you know. However, I think you're being selfish. You're blessed, Madoka Kaname. Be content with what you have and I doubt you'll get yourself into these kind of situations any further. Don't give up something that few people could only hope to have."

"H-Homura-chan!" protested Madoka under the weight of the gun as well as having her hair messed up, "We're running for our lives here! At least be serious!"

"Irony is the first step to becoming a comedian," muttered the Magical Girl before studying the girl beside her, "Are you okay now?"

"I can run again," confirmed Madoka before having her eyes dart around nervously, "How long can you keep this going?"

"Not for long, let's go," with that they broke into a run once more as the world around them somehow grew smaller and smaller. Even within the Time Stop, the two girls noticed how the landscape warped and twisted, making it seem like they were entering a long dark tunnel. The only sound to be heard was the clacking of their shoes and the whirring of the shield which seemed to be on the verge of coming to a grinding halt. She figured that this wasn't going to do her Soul Gem any good.

Still, one of the perks of moving within frozen time was the lack of hostiles meeting up and forcing her to fight every step of the way.

Just as the path they were traversing was about to get any smaller, they finally broke out into a wide spaced area, another part of the Witch's Barrier. Cursing under her breath, she figured that the Barrier was made up of a number of levels. First being the white world, then the dark world filled with Familiars, and now what seemed to be a thick forest of some sort. Usually, Barriers were created from the last thoughts of Magical Girls as well as memories which impacted their lives greatly.

The keyword to that state meant was 'usually'.

Charred, leafless trees met their eyes as they passed through them in hopes of finding the exit. Finally, her shield gave out as it uttered on final metallic whine before shifting itself shut, the blood red orbs obscured by the metallic plate protecting them. The world reverted back to normal almost instantly with whatever nastiness the Barrier formerly had being active once again.

The surrounding area was then filled with activity, a cold damp breeze drifting in the air and causing the dead branches of the charred trees to creak and squeal. The fallen branches uttered a loud crunching sound every time they stepped into one, causing the both of them flinch at them. She noted Madoka's current state and found out that the pink haired girl was having trouble breathing.

Seeing that wasn't particularly a good sign, she pulsed her Gem to determine a path towards the exit and ending up finding a cobblestoned path.

"Are we finally getting out?" asked Madoka timidly as she peered over the Magical Girl's shoulder.

"I'll go first, keep behind me and stay alert," she ordered the pink haired girl while keeping her pistol at the ready.

The path led on for a few more minutes, allowing the girls to traverse through a different part of the forest with much lesser trees and more green shrubs sprouting from the ground. Though curiously, a few of these shrub bloomed coins instead of flowers, prompting her to snap at Madoka if the pink haired girl so as tried to get near the things.

When inside a Witch's Barrier, it was healthy to think that everything was trying to kill you.

The scent of burnt wood and paper filled her nostrils, she could hear the girl she was protecting behind her gag from the stench. She murmured quietly for the other girl to bear with it and that it would be over soon. She just hoped she was right though.

A few more moments later though, the two of them came across a wide clearing with more oversized items stuck to the ground, similar to the ones that they had found in the white world. Nothing else was of note about the clearing save for the fact that the burnt trees and shrubbery formed a near perfect circle around the clearing.

"Is this it? Is this the exit?" asked the pink haired girl as she walked to the Magical Girl's side.

She frowned as she scanned the area. Judging from the pulse her Gem sent out earlier, they should be at the exit by now, an area within the Barrier where the link between the Real World and the Witch's dimension was the weakest. Once there, she should be able to brute force their way out with her Soul Gem and magic. But if things were to be this way then that could only mean…

"Homura-chan…" whispered Madoka from behind her, "Um, can I say something?"

"At the risk of jinxing us, go on ahead, please," replied Homura as she let out a shaky breath.

"This is the exit, yes?"

"Correct."

"But there's no exit in sight."

"Yes."

"So is this the part where—"

"No, please, don't say it."

"But—"

"Just… Just please let me gather my thoughts, prepare my mind and soul and form plan, an escape… something!" she let out an exasperated breath as she pinched the bridge of her nose. This was not good, this was not good at all. She could already feel it travelling underground… Whatever it was, it was big and deadly. A minor vibration could be felt raveling up her legs from the ground as the surrounding trees began to quake and quiver from where they stood.

The temperature dropped like a stone, above them the odd alien sky began to flicker as the dark baubles from the white world fell and hung from thin threads barely visible to the naked eye… And their size were huge, almost as big as a small house, their front glimmering with a faint ominous glow as a clean set of human looking teeth grinned , their dot like eyes fixed upon the girls at the clearing.

Familiars. Probably used by the Witch to keep track of her victim's movements. Possibly the same way those lead javelins kept hitting their marks.

Raising her pistol, she kept Madoka behind her as she slowly made her way to the center. Something was flickering through the tree lines, phasing in and out existence. It was light, it was huge, it was something she was going to be remembering for the next three days.

"Homura-chan!" at Madoka cry, the Magical Girl tensed and aimed her gun towards the trees, her breathing steadily growing more erratic as she strained her eyes to see up ahead.

"Hide behind the objects!" she snapped at her companion.

"I can fight to! Just let me—"

"This is a Witch, Madoka! A Witch that fused another one, just stay out of this!"

And then the heart of the clearing burst with an explosion of dirt and corruption as the cackling Witch made its presence known. It was shaped similar to a cracked snow globe, the miniature village under the ruined and crumbling glass decaying as black snow stormed its way in all direction. A lone humanoid figure could be seen at the center of the dome, its limbs bearing a melted look as if its body was fusing with the Witch itself, resembled the fragments of a Magical Girl with her face contorted in pain as flowers bloomed from her eye sockets and blue tears cascaded down her eyes.

A haunting laugh filled the clearing, the dark presence which flitted through the trees remaining where it was, watching in deep amusement as the human girl and the Magical Girl found themselves in the face of a fused Witch.

Madoka dived for cover behind an oversized plastic cup to avoid the black snow storm while Homura braved the unrelenting winds with her shield and gun in hand. She felt the wind slap her face, the cold and familiar weight of her weapon in her hands as she aimed through the buffeting snow. She was trembling, she was shaking from her hands to her toes. If she died this time, would she wind up all the way back to the white world?

No, of course not. Not without Witching Out and being absorbed by this Witch. That's what its Barrier is all about. It seemed like this Witch really lived up to the name of its species. Spreading despair, forcing its victim to give up and lie down to die, that's what Witches are after all. It was strong, dangerously so and this was the kind of Witch she loathed facing on her own. Usually, such high level Witches was recommended to be fought by a pair of Magical Girls. If Kyouko Sakura or Mami Tomoe were here, she'd even find it in her heart to accept their aid.

But there wasn't anyone with her but herself and Madoka.

Real sweet, Walpurgisnacht hasn't even arrived and yet…

Gritting her teeth, she pulled the trigger while rushing forward, the gun spitting hot lead until the magazine runs dry before she ducked behind an enormous chair's leg. Judging from how the wind seemed to intensify, she only succeeded in making the Witch angrier. Small arms were out of the question so something with more fire power? She'd really hate using her flamethrower here and she'd have to get close just to give the thing a good shotgun blast to the face and be done with this farce so those options were out of her plate.

Having a sniper propped up in an open battlefield like this with the Witch giving her its full attention was going to be difficult without her Time Stop. She wasn't sure she could manage another one until the corruption in her Soul Gem was cleansed with a Grief Seed.

A scream from her right and she immediately knew Madoka was in trouble. Cursing under her breath, she made a wild dash of her friend, but was swept off her feet by a wild gale. Blown a few meters away from target, her eyes ignored the unholy wailing form of the freak of nature right in front of her and focused her mind and remaining magic to rescue Madoka. She then faltered and performed a front flip just as a lead javelin flew where her torso was a split second ago.

Rolling along the ground, she scrambled to her feet as more javelins fell from the heavens in an attempt kill her yet she managed to make it to cover where she left Madoka. The girl in question was busy kicking away a sneaky inky black tendril of corruption, her right hand donning the brass knuckle she used to beat a Familiar senseless as she tried to punch out the tendril holding her to no avail.

Taking a ballistic knife out of her shield, she twirled it once in her hand so that the blade was facing downwards before she pounced at the tendril and hacked it with her blade. Her body didn't even had the chance to come to a halt when she kicked off the ground and grabbed Madoka by the waist and head back for cover. Unfortunately, a falling javelin managed to get a lucky shot at her and hit the back of her leg, sending her stumbling along with her precious cargo.

Madoka fell into the ground grunting in pain before she found Homura prone behind her.

"Not again, you don't!" she cried before taking Homura's outstretched hand and pulled her to safety. Catching her breath, she then helped the Magical sit up while speaking, "Homura-chan… You can't fight while protecting me and we can't escape without dealing with that… m-monster. You n-need your hands f-f-free…. Is there anything… _anything_ you could do to help me? I can defend myself just fine but can you give me the chance to do just that? Homura-chan!"

She spaced out, her head a swirling mess of disorientation and half-coherent thoughts she, _Homura_, tried to wake herself up by just following Madoka's voice. Right, she shouldn't be sitting around. She should be shooting things. She was particularly good at shooting things. Even more so than Mami Tomoe.

Turning her gaze towards the human girl and at the fading argument said girl had just laid out for her, she allowed herself a split second decision. Madoka was right, she wouldn't be able to handle two things at once without relying on her Time Stop, otherwise she'd sooner get herself torn apart or Witch Out just from attempting such a feat. But then again, that would leave Madoka vulnerable with nothing but her fists to defend her until Homura took out one Witch or at least defeat the main one keeping the others together.

"I—Ugh!" her leg was still a bleeding mess. She couldn't waste any more time, the Snow globe Witch was getting more agitated by the passing second and its other half was still lurking in the tree line. Letting out a small sigh, she checked her Gem once more. She grimaced, even Madoka was surprised to see the bright purple Gem glow faintly in all the darkness it had accumulated. Shooting Madoka a sharp look, she then said, "Give me your weapons."

Turning her uncertain look into a determined expression, the pink haired girl presented her brass knuckles and had the Magical Girl enchant them with a tiny trickle of her Magic, making them more potent against otherworldly enemies.

She felt sick, so sick that she wanted to throw up right then and there yet she held on. Her wound had healed enough that she could actually stand again and breathe in relief. While the human girl marveled at her now purple glowing metal implements of brutal punching over the mad cackle of the demented Witch, Homura hacked and coughed before pulling out an M16 Carbine fixed with a fresh magazine off a storage house. It was sleek with an easy grip and a comfortable weight. It even looked freshly oiled as the same day she procured it from the nearest military base.

"I'm going," she growled before glancing at Madoka one last time, "Keep safe. Stay here. Don't move a muscle unless you're attacked."

"Come to my house for dinner after this!" yelled the pink haired girl as the Magical Girl burst through her cover and went out loud.

She'd love dinner at the Kaname household.

She just had to make sure her limbs were intact to make the trip.

She had the Witch on her sights and did not hesitate on unloading a three second burst fire while making her way towards the next cover available, preferably a whole lot closer to the Witch. Peeking out of her cover, a huge wardrobe with half of its body digging into the ground, she tried to take out the humanoid part of the Witch in hopes of it being the weakness. But she knew with a Witch of this caliber, such methods wouldn't be of much use.

She had to get close, close enough to lob a grenade or something. Maybe ten grenades. Bombs were always easy to make and acquire so she had no reservation in using all of them on this Witch. Maybe one day she'll nab a Davy Crockett when she had the time.

A burst of black snow was sent her way and judging from the numerous thumps at the back of her cover, she would've be shredded if she was caught in it. Suddenly, her left arm was a whole lot more twitchy than usual.

She has never been shot by shotgun before but she wasn't going to stick around to find out. The Witch slammed another wave of snow into her cover, the wood groaning from the amount of damage it was receiving. Sooner or later it would collapse. She had to move so she did, rushing out of the enormous cabinet's protection and heightening her senses. Allowing a small amount of magic to flow in her legs, arms and eyes, she entered into a brief trance where she aimed her sights at the Witch while her heartbeat pounded in her ear.

And then she fired, a stream of bullets launching themselves and hitting their marks with magnificent accuracy rivaling a skilled marksman.

The snowstorm came to a halt, the black snow falling dead into the ground with a series of thuds. The Witch's cackling only grew louder at this while Homura used this chance to get close, refusing to give the abomination a chance to recover by spraying it with lead.

It screamed in agony as its body was riddle with holes.

She knew it was distracted, now was her chance. Positioning herself ten feet away from the Witch, she took her time to retrieve her flamethrower from her shield, hoping to grill it to death. Yet just as she was about to bring out the full length of her fiery weapon of Witch Extermination, an ethereal black hand slammed itself between her and her intended target. Looking up, she found the second half of the Witch, a twisted black mass of corruption with eyes bawling with red tears while bearing a demented smile on its face.

She didn't have time, she aimed high and lit the Witch up. The grin on its face turned into an angry frown as it received a full face of cleansing fire, enveloping its head and arms in flames.

Low guttural roar escapes its burning lips as blood red ooze dripped from its mouth and into the ground. No, she was not touching those things. She was going to try and distance herself enough to actually torch—

"Homura-chan, watch out!" warned a voice behind her and she only realized that the Snow globe Witch had gathered enough power to bend the black snow under its will once more. The black ice swirled up and formed a miniature tornado before dispersing towards her direction.

Oh so this was what it felt like getting hit by a buckshot.

She managed to raise her shield and protect her Soul Gem from breaking once more but at the cost of being wounded heavily, knocking her into the ground and spraying her blood into the grass. The Witch only cackled once it saw she was down. Cursing her own stupidity, she discarded the flame thrower and reached for her shield once more as it dispenses a Desert Eagle, the hand cannon weighing down in her hand yet she felt at ease knowing she had a trusty weapon in her hand.

Now the problem lied in actually doing something.

The burning behemoth of hate and despair had recovered enough to zero its eyes on her lying on a pool of her own blood on the grass and it wasted no time rushing towards her. It would've succeeded in killing her right then and there had she not sat up and punched five rounds of lead into its eyes and knocking it off course.

It growled before roaring, rearing its head up while rubbing its face with its still flaming arms. This beast she could handle yet what about the—

"HAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Just as the Snow globe Witch was about to summon another deadly storm to finish Homura off, a girl's high pitched war cry pierced through the clearing. Madoka had taken the initiative to take the heat off Homura while she was wounded by charging headlong towards another abomination that could easily kill her with a thought. The flaming giant of twisted corruption was beginning to recover and raised its fist to crush Homura while the Snow globe Witch had the intention of diverting its snow storm towards the human girl. At this rate, they'll both die, again, and she'll Witch Out while Madoka dies a horrible death.

No, she was not going to let that happen. Seriously, the things she does for love.

Firing blindly at the Snow globe Witch, Homura kept a wary gaze at the rising fist just as it fell down with the speed of a truck. Lucky for her, she managed to roll out of her way and raise her Desert Eagle to shoot its eyes out once more. However this time her luck deservingly ran out once she realized the magazine was empty.

The snow storm never came so did she perhaps manage to land a lucky shot?

The giant was about to crush her with another first. She wasn't so sure that she could roll out of the way of this one. But will everything really end here? Her Soul Gem, she could feel it darkening, slowly… Numb… She felt numb… In her dimming vision she tried to catch a glimpse of the Snow globe Witch.

But instead she found Madoka, clearing the last few feet between her and the Witch just as the abomination was summoning another deadly storm.

It was here Homura watched as Madoka raised a glowing purple fist imbued with the time-traveler's magic and drew it back, her eyes emotionless and filled with only bloodlust as she gritted her teeth.

"**MADO=/=PUNCH!**"

….

…

…What?

The Witch then receives a fistful of magically enhanced brass knuckle, distorting its face and shearing off its lower jaw of its humanoid body part. Madoka only paused for a moment to see what she had just done before charging in once more and punching out the rest of the Witch's humanoid head.

"Homura-chan, now's your chance!" yelled Madoka as she glanced at the fallen Magical Girl and at the giant Witch of black ooze and hate above her. Homura turned her gaze at the Witch that was about to kill her and found that it was flickering. She was still reeling from what just happened but this could be the golden opportunity she had been waiting for.

With great difficulty, she focused her mind and tried to retrieve a weapon that had enough firepower and could clear the distance between her and the Witch enough to deliver a fatal blow. That was when she held the stock of an Anti-Material Sniper Rifle and pulling it out gently from its storage. She checked it as she propped it up before her. She couldn't really stand due to her injured legs and she couldn't spare the time to heal with the corruption eating away at her Soul Gem.

With a steady breath, she ignored the peculiar sight of Madoka pummeling the Witch with her fists, completely unaware that if she let the Witch even recover by a split second and she was dead. Homura trusted Madoka, Homura had faith in her, Homura wouldn't be giving her everything if she didn't even follow Madoka's intentions. The lumbering mass of twisted emotions above her continued to flail as its connection with the other Witch began to wane, robbing it of its power from the earlier battle.

And then she finally leaned her cheek against the cold hard surface of her gun and peered through the sights, aiming to get a clear shot so as not to hit Madoka whom was currently busy wrecking the miniature village with her hands. Homura smiled, feeling the magic she had used to enhance those brass knuckles whittle away on her own reserves.

And then she put on a hard look and called out, "Madoka! GET OUT OF THE WAY!"

At this, the pink haired girl didn't even stop to ask but merely jumped right out of the sniper rifle's line of fire. A heartbeat later, Homura's finger hugged the trigger and the thunderous report of the rifle pierced through the clearing like a stone through glass.

The bullet hit and sent an explosive display of Witch flesh and glass into the air, a hell bound shriek escaping the Witch as it thrashed.

It still wasn't down. It just prepared itself to release a whirlwind of—

_**BANG**_

A large piece of its back portion burst into a blast of wood and inky black blood. The Witch's attack was canceled yet it only—

_**BANG**_

The right part of its humanoid torso was shot off—

_**BANG**_

The center portion was pierced—

_**BANG**_

_**BANG**_

_**BANG**_

_**BANG**_

Armor piercing rounds were sent flying one after the other, Homura cursing and cursing under her breath as she wished for the damnable thing to just lie on its back and keel over. However with every shot, she only seemed to be making it angry after the first three report so she made sure to empty the entire magazine unto it without a hint of mercy left in her eyes. She wanted it dead.

She wanted it dead so much…

_**BANG**_ went the last round as the spent casing flew to Homura's right while she watched as it revealed an important looking case at the heart of the Witch's ruined village set. It shined an eerie light of dark blue which enveloped almost the entirety of the clearing. The Witch's laughter had long since ceased and was replaced by its voice screaming non-stop. She couldn't fire anymore, her arm went dead on her and she couldn't lift it up even when she tried. Not without using Magic and she knew doing so would bring her closer to Witching Out.

Her Soul Gem was already close to blackening completely.

"I got this! It's weakness is there, right?!" called Madoka as she rushed in once more, throwing caution into the wind as she came upon the object which seemed to be the Witch's Core keeping it connected with the other Witch. It seemed that Madoka had figured out the connection and didn't waste any time raising a glowing purple fist and crushing it. The clearing then exploded in a brilliant azure glow as the Witch's dying screams faded into nothingness, Madoka falling a feet into the ground but was otherwise unharmed.

Breathing heavily, the pink haired girl turned her gaze at the slow descent of a pointy black sphere which bore the symbol of a dome on its surface.

"Ma…doka!" groaned Homura with the last bit of her strength as she held up her shield arm, it was here the pin haired girl immediately understood her and got into a pitcher's stance.

"GO!" she cried before throwing the newly acquired grief seed through the air and into Homura's open palm.

Right, she had been waiting for this. She had been waiting for this for a long, _long_ time and she was going to _enjoy_ it as much as she could. She was going to kill some Witches, get her Grief Seeds and go home after making sure Madoka was perfectly safe from anymore reality warping abominations from the eight Buddhist hells.

The Seed almost sailed past her palm but stopped in mid-air just a few inches away from the back of her hand where her Soul Gem was placed. She watched as the darkness surrounding her Gem was sucked away as the Seed consumed all of the corruption and leaving a perfectly clean purple Gem which radiated a bright purple light. Homura would've grinned like a madwoman at this point but she was busy tapping her shield for a reload for her Anti Material Sniper Rifle.

"Homura-chan, are you—" the words in Madoka's throat died as she watched the wounds the Magical Girl gather slowly but surely healed. Not all at once but one at a time starting with the most damaging ones to the smallest cut on the raven haired girl's cheek.

"I'm fine. Just going to clean up over here," she breathed out before giving the pink haired girl a small smile and then winking out of existence.

While Madoka was left puzzled, frozen in time from the sudden activation of Time Stop, Homura was already hard at work. With the world coming to a grinding halt, she quickly raised her sniper rifle and walked towards the fallen Witch of corruption's head and released five armor piercing rounds. Having done that, she fished out the ten grenades she had promised using earlier, yanking off their pins at the same time and placing them at a strategic location somewhere on the Witch's body.

Moving away, she then grabbed Madoka's hand and allowed her to move within the Time Stop once their hands connected. Albeit perplexed by the sudden dive within a world where time refused to flow, Madoka knew better than to do anything out of line, especially while in the Time Stop. She was led away by Homura to a safe distance before the time traveler's whirring shield fell into silence.

The world regained its color and just as the remaining Witch was about to get up—

_**BOOM**_

It exploded.

Madoka shielded her face from the resulting ring of force spread outwards as well as to keep herself from being blinded by the white hot light. The Witch uttered one final shriek before dissipating into nothingness after relinquishing its Grief Seed. The Seed descended into the ground as the Barrier dissolved around the two girls. The forest broke apart and the grass clearing melted, giving way to cold hard tiles and the humid interior of a rest room.

They were back.

She let go of Madoka's hand and walked towards where the second Grief Seed had fallen. The symbol it had on its sphere was the smiling visage of the monster it once was. It should be good for three cleanses with the Snow globe Witch having three too with one cleanse spent.

Two Seeds with six charges all in all, and that's when she was barely breathing and bleeding on the ground. At the back of her mind, this called for some celebration, however, she turned to look at the pink haired girl behind her and sighed heavily. This was going to be a long Timeline, wasn't it?

But seeing that innocent smile on the girl she vowed to save was enough. Otherwise, she'll really snap and lose it.

"This is what it means to be a Magical Girl," she spoke, her voice grave as she tossed the Grief Seed up and down her palm, "Do you understand now? The nature of what you're trying to get yourself into? You saw how we died back there. At best that's the only thing that you would experience, death."

Madoka stepped back, the soft look on her face never wavering before she finally hit her back against a locked stall door and slid downwards. She seemed exhausted, Homura couldn't blame her. It would take a few hours for the Barrier Sickness to subside at best. If not, then this was going to be a troublesome night for the pink haired girl. Homura couldn't do anything to comfort her, to help her and it was painful that the fact that she could do nothing for Madoka whenever the girl was like this.

She could only watch and give her warnings. Those were things she could do.

"Death… Was it?" murmured Madoka as she stared at the ceiling, the surreal feeling of having died once in that Barrier and having to fight through it just to survive still lingering within her mind, "Then then what are you fighting for, Homura-chan? Those horrifying things, I doubt that this is the first time you've fought those monsters but you need to have some sort of reason, yes? Otherwise you would've run away like any normal person would have."

She narrowed her gaze before avoiding Madoka's eyes, "I'm not normal. I could never be normal. What am I fighting for? Well that's a secret. Maybe I just don't want others to suffer the same fate as I did. Not you, not your friends, not any other girl in this city."

"Right, because no one deserves such a fate. But is it all right? To handle all that burden by yourself?" Madoka sighed lightly before giggling, "That's no good at all, Homura-chan!"

Blinking in surprise, Homura looked at the girl before her and at the Grief Seed in her hand. Clenching her fist, she stored the Seed in her shield before walking to where Madoka was and sitting by her side. They must've been quite the sight. Two disheveled girls with the one in the costume covered in bloodstains. She was feeling miserable, hungry, cold, and tired but being by Madoka's side made all those bearable for at least for that moment.

Maybe she was right. It's not good at all dealing with this on her own. It's possible that complications would arise by involving Madoka this early and yet…

"Yeah, no good at all," she murmured to herself while the girl by her side smiled at her.

Homura Akemi was a Magical Girl and she had just survived the day by the skin of her teeth.

* * *

><p><strong>WITCH CARDS:<strong>

**AGNES**

**The Witch of Repetition, her nature is Endless Recurrence. Content on reliving her everyday life on her own pace, this Witch forever experiences the fragments of her past life alongside with her Familiars. Snow symbolizes her transition from her youth to adulthood. Aptly named as the Snow Globe Witch due to its appearance.**

**FAMILIAR**

**ERNEST**

**The Repetition Witch's minions. Their role is to be creative. Intelligent creatures with grinning teeth upon their bodies, these Familiars fill in the role of reminding the Witch of her creations, logs, records as well as achievements. They are the Witch's Best Friends.**

**JOHN DOE**

**The Repetition's Witch's eyes. Their role is to scrutinize. As the Witch is busy overseeing its miniature village, these Familiars serve as her sentinels, returning to the Witch's side to report their findings. Though they may seem harmless, these minions are capable of raining lead javelins from the heavens, tools of the Witch to create Ernests. These beasts are turncoats and would rather Watch the Witch suffer than aid it in battle.**

**WITCH CARDS:**

**LYNETTE**

**The Witch of Smog, her nature is to Corrupt. Having been absorbed by the Witch of Repetition, this Witch lurks within the first Witch's home, leaving behind the dark, twisting world for the Agnes' home. It hides within the trees, taking nutrients from the unwary souls that have been given up hope and succumbed to despair. It is a subject to the Witch of Repetition's will, cut the line and kill it.**

**FAMILIAR**

**N/A**

* * *

><p><em>Nicolas Notes: So the full name of Madoka's punch is 'Mado Unequal Punch'. I have no idea where that came from. Don't ask. Heh, I based the Witches on people I know in real life. This is fun. <em>

_Rate, review, and feedback on your way out please! Thanks for reading!_


	4. Chapter 4: Back in The Grind

Another Timeline gone…

* * *

><p>One thing she knew and was certain about was the fact that her life would never get easier. The deeper she went into the rabbit hole, the more horrors and hardships were thrown into her face and that's when it's all dark and she didn't have a single clue on what to do. Save for vague goals and herself, there's no one she could rely on. What allies she could make were never as strong as her, never as determined, and never as disciplined. One way or another they would all fall, one by one.<p>

This was the reason she detached herself from her old friends. It hurt her seeing them as much as she wanted to deny it. She would cry every night, remembering old friendships that never lasted until she fell asleep. Even after experiencing sixty three loops, the nightmares continued. Witches of all shapes and sizes ranging from the weakest to the most dangerous haunted her every second she was awake. Coupled with the fact that the origin of Witches were Magical Girls, she long since realized that she simply had too much blood in her hands to bother.

No, she was desensitized to death, she merely looked the other way. No, she hadn't locked away her emotions, she still hurt when she knew that everything won't be the same anymore. No, she wasn't being clever and logical, as far as she was concerned she was still a naïve, hopeful, and stubborn fool for continuing to fight against the inevitable.

And that was to save Madoka Kaname.

She was practical person and she always had a knack for being observant. Spending years looking out of the window of that god awful sterilized room inside that equally boring hospital could do that to a person. Her eyes used to require her old red rimmed glasses yet these days she found no use for it anymore having temporarily healed her ailment with her magic. Still, she could read people better just by looking at them. It was a useful ability which didn't require her magic unlike some powers which, while were very accurate and detailed, used up large amounts of magic.

That way, she could gauge people's reactions and prompt herself to flee once she realized that she was at the epicenter of an incoming Witch Barrier from a resulting Witch Out. It saved her a number of times while getting her out four nasty situations which involved snow cones, swords, and a half-priced meat from the local supermarket.

As sigh escaped her lips as she turned her gaze at the gray skies above her. The weather had been dark, gray and gloomy for the past three days, making her first week in this Timeline cold, wet and frustrating. She didn't show it though, she knew better than to take off the stoic mask she had built up just to mutter angrily under her breath. Self-control was something she was still getting used to, especially after her blunders in multiple Timelines where she became a little bit too reckless for her own good.

She'll never live it down telling Kyouko Sakura that lie after she had enough of the red haired girl's presence, effectively sending said girl to her death.

She winced inwardly at that memory before shaking her head, her long flowing raven hair dancing behind her. It was Tuesday and she was on her way towards school after a busy night patrolling the streets. She managed to get a satisfying seven hour sleep and even work on her homework. The wind was quite cool thanks to the current weather, prompting her to shiver lightly underneath her uniform.

It wasn't even August yet or maybe September and it was already getting cold.

She was all alone in the path she was currently taking, the occasional vehicle at some far off street coming and going at the edge of her vision. She mostly kept her head low as she let her thoughts drift, planning, re-planning, considering ten different variables as well as objectives all while coming up a back-up plan for her back-up plan in case everything goes to hell and Walpurgisnacht arrives three weeks earlier than scheduled. She almost went insane when that happened, her Soul Gem almost turning pitch black hadn't Mami saved her then.

Now that the blonde Magical Girl had entered her thoughts, she briefly wondered what happened to her. Usually, the first contact Madoka Kaname would have with the world of Magical Girls would be through Mami Tomoe or once Sayaka Miki had contracted. With Sayaka Miki confirmed to be a human being with no signs of magic, she considered Mami's entrance to arrive soon enough yet she was proven wrong once again.

At worse, this could be an Anomaly.

And oh did she despise those things as much as she hated a certain wish granting mutant cat. But then again, the general rule for all timelines was for them to be consistent and inconsistent at the same time yet deep down she hoped that the changes would be subtle at best. She didn't have the time and energy to deal with large scale diversions from the preceding timelines. But then again, staying in one routine would definitely get her killed one day so she made sure to practice adapting whenever she could.

She made a mental checklist of her current inventory which consisted her weapons in one category, the two grief seeds from the fused Witch, her golf club and her mobile phone. Most of her living necessities and personal belongings which she always brought with her every time she looped were stored in her apartment. Nothing wrong on that end and after checking her Soul Gem, she found out that it was perfectly clean.

She should be ready for anything.

Well, almost anything.

"_Maybe you shouldn't act so distant."_

Coming to a halt, she whirled around to look behind her but was met with an empty space.

"_She only has one life, maybe you should focus on making her happy?"_

She cursed under her breath. Rubbing the bridge of her nose, she let out a heavy sigh as she gathered her thoughts. No, she wasn't going to listen to the tiny voices in her head. No matter how much they sounded like her own voice or how rational their arguments sound, she won't listen.

"_Priorities. Get them right, you twat."_

Okay, now that was just rude—

"Hi there! Good morning, Homura-chan!"

The echoing sounds of someone running towards her came from the path to her left where a girl from off from her friends to come over. Instantly recognizing the pink twin-tails, short stature and red ribbons, Homura felt her heart skip a bit as she internally lost her composure. If it were an enemy then she'd be dead by then, at the very least it was a person she was willing and glad to see despite her circumstances.

Madoka Kaname ran towards her while waving a cheerful arm, clutching her bag on her other hand as she wore a bright smile on her face. Homura nodded once and contemplated leaving quickly and staying. After what happened last time, getting too attached may not seem feasible for the moment and yet…

She dismissed her thoughts and politely greeted back, "Good morning, Kaname-san."

Just as Madoka came to a halt right in front of her, the distinct figures of a blue haired girl and a green haired girl trailed behind Madoka. They seemed to have run as well seeing that they were out of breath. Shizuki Hitomi she could understand knowing that she was a girl of noble upbringing and had lived sheltered life but knowing Madoka outlasted Sayaka Miki of all people in just running was surprising. Homura hadn't gotten a closer look at these two due to the fiasco that was two days ago as well as setting up her new home in Mitakihara but if things went well then this would be a good time to observe them.

"Geez, Madoka…. Haah…" Sayaka Miki clutched her chest while bearing a strained look on her face as she addressed the shorter girl, "You gotta work on your self-restraint! We're sooner to drop dead on the ground than catch up to you… Jesus how far was that Hitomi? Hitomi? Hey you all right?"

"I'm okay! Fine… Perfectly fine, Sayaka-chan… Just… Just… whew…" shaking the fatigue from her head, Hitomi Shizuki seemed to have recovered a whole lot faster than her blue haired friend as she straightened her back, "I think… A mile and a half? That's not counting going through those alleys."

"And we're not even running late," grumbled Sayaka as she patted her uniform and sent a look at Homura once before turning her gaze at Madoka, "So when did you get all chummy with the transfer student? You're friendly with a lot of people, Madoka, but it's just been a week! Let her settle down some more."

She didn't really know how to take that but there didn't seem to be any problems with this Sayaka. Brash, quick to jump to conclusions and naïve. Probability of contracting: high. Of course, it all starts with this girl one way or another. If something happened to her, then Madoka contracts. If something happens to that violin boy of hers, then she contracts. If Mami Tomoe dies, then she contracts. _Everything_ starts with her if Madoka hadn't already contracted or if she didn't know of the Magical Girl system yet.

"Madoka's just cheerful. I'm by no means a morning person but Madoka's energy is quite contagious. The downside of it is that it gets out of control at times, isn't that right, Madoka-chan?" giggled Hitomi as she hid her lips behind her palm, "Self-restraint, okay? Self-restraint!"

"Hitomi-chan!" Madoka seemed to be quite annoyed by this as she pouted her lips and crossed her arms, "You and Sayaka-chan should really take your morning jogs seriously during the weekends. It'll help with the excess fat both of you are getting. It's unhealthy you know!"

"H-Hey Madoka! Not in public!" stuttered Sayaka with a mortified look while Hitomi merely blushed. The blue haired girl then scratched the back of her head as she tried to finds a suitable distraction. Oh joy, her aqua blue eyes immediately zeroed in on the raven haired girl and diverted the conversation, "Anyway, you haven't answered me yet! Introduce us, it's only polite!"

Somehow, she noticed the shiver which ran down Sayaka's shoulders as she said that. Huh. Looks like the Blueberry disliked her still even in this timeline. That could be remedied given that she put enough effort on gaining Sayaka Miki's trust but she didn't really feel like it. Especially after what happened in the last timeline before the one she was in at the moment.

"R-Right!" putting up a straight face, the shorter girl went behind Homura and grabbed her by both arms from the back. Homura didn't resist yet she still buckled once she was forcefully brought right in front of the other girls like some sort of prisoner. After that, Madoka went to the raven haired girl's side and spoke, "Everyone, this is Homura Akemi. I'm sure the two of you know her already but she only transferred here a few days ago and I want _us_ all," her eyes lingered for a moment on Sayaka's making the Blueberry wince, "To get along… Homura-chan, Sayaka and Hitomi. Sayaka and Hitomi, this is Homura-chan."

"It's a pleasure to be introduced formally, Akemi-san," greeted Hitomi with a polite bow, "I do hope you're adjusting well to the class as well as Madoka's behavior."

"Yeah, nice to meet you tooI guess, transfer student," said Sayaka with an uncertain look before offering her hand, a western styled greeting, "Just don't get too close to Madoka, she's going to be my wife after all. I got my eyes on you, bub."

Blinking twice, it was here did Homura reply, "Yes. It's nice to meet you two too. Though not to break the mood, however I think it's best if we moved. We don't want to be late."

"Right! Let's go Hitomi!" finally seeing an excuse ot go ahead, Sayaka urged her green haired girl forward as she ran forth, "Have a nice chat, Madoka!"

"Muu, Sayaka-chan!" Madoka yelled back as Hitomi passed her and Homura once more and waved goodbye.

The pink haired girl waved likewise while she and her quiet companion watched the two girls disappear at the distance. They still had an hour until class so they could walk at their own pace without worrying about the bell ringing just yet. The sky was still gray so it would be better to walk fast just in case the rain decided to fall.

"Shall we go?" prompted Madoka with a big smile on her face before leading the way.

She followed the pink haired girl with her eyes before moving her own feet forward and trailing behind.

"You've been avoiding me, haven't you, Homura-chan?" piped up Madoka as the silence began to creep in, her footsteps light and casual in contrast with Homura's straight and almost militaristic gait, "I've been trying to come in contact with you the past few days but you'd always avoid me in class."

"Have the nightmares stopped?" asked Homura, ignoring the pink haired girl's statement before she could dig further.

It was just a few days after the pink haired girl's impromptu excursion into a Witch Barrier and getting a firsthand lesson unto what the world of a Magical Girl looked like. Homura tried to point out and drive home that being a Puella Magi was stupid and dangerous yet she didn't seem to have convinced the Madoka despite everything. And that's after they were both killed by a time re-looping Witch, Madoka still seemed interested in Homura's world.

And just by coming in contact with Madoka once more and being introduced to Sayaka Miki and Hitomi Shizuki meant that Homura's plan of being distant failed. She hadn't expected it to succeed knowing Madoka could be as stubborn as she was but it seemed that there was no helping it.

The least she could do was damage control, just as always and make sure Madoka doesn't contract or dies.

Answering her previous question, the pink haired girls said, "No, they haven't. I've been losing sleep."

"I see," murmured Homura as she kept on walking staring at the shorter girl's back, "Perhaps you could seek help from a professional?"

"And what should I tell them? Girls need to have their secrets, Homura-chan," glancing back and giving the raven haired girl a wink, Madoka twirled once and continued strolling forward, "They won't understand."

"_Broken. Just like you…"_

Gritting her teeth, she tried to ignore the voice once again and reply, "Still, you should be more careful. After coming in contact with a Barrier, there's no telling when you'll run into another one."

"I'm careful, Homura-chan!" Madoka made a pout as she looked back once more.

Raising an eyebrow, the edge of Homura's lips twitched as she narrowed eyes at the girl before her, "Yes, and fighting a group of thugs with a brass knuckle is a sign of being careful."

"That was something else," Madoka averted her gaze and sighed, "Besides, you should be the one to be careful Homura-chan. Don't you get tired of it? Fighting?"

"Don't you?" murmured Homura as she redirected the question back.

"_She has a point, you know?"_

Letting out a shaky breath, she gathered a fraction of her magic and eased her frazzled nerves. It was early in the morning and she was already starting to feel horrible with her skin crawling and the voices in her head refusing to shut their mouths. It was just an aftereffect of entering Witch Barriers, a form of Barrier Sickness, it should fade in a few—

"_Yeah, not happening, you ignorant twat."_

She just wished it would shut up.

"Homura-chan..? Are you feeling all right? You don't look so good," Madoka's concerned voice fortunately managed to wrench her out of her thoughts and back into reality. She was grateful of course, Madoka had only been the only to do that regardless the timeline. Mami tried once and it worked to a degree yet once the blonde was done in by the Television Witch then that's when everything started cascading down some more.

She would've smiled to herself at that memory, she wondered just how far and how much more she could take before she collapsed. She was already broken and something inside of her was forever lost in the sands of time which she stubbornly turned over and over once a Timeline was on the verge of destruction.

She… She couldn't remember when she broke, actually…

"No," she admitted, "I feel unwell. Nothing you should be worrying about, just a mild headache. It'll pass."

Coming to a halt, the pink haired girl spun once with surprising speed and sent out an arm. Homura would've dodged had she not felt the warm touch of a finger on her lips making her entire body go stiff. Her muscles tensed and she could've sworn her heart rate went up.

Madoka's eyes had a strange light in them, her tone still maintained a casual and cheery tone as she smiled and chided, "That's no good, Homura-chan. If you don't rest properly, then who knows what'll happen to you? I know protecting the city and keeping other girls from sharing your fate is an important job but if you don't take care of your body properly then you'll end up being the one needing to be saved. It doesn't have to be all about you, you know? Besides, juggling being a Magical Girl and a mysterious transfer student's kind of hard, isn't it?"

_So she's still doesn't know, hm? _ She thought as she studied the other girl's expression, _Maybe explaining the System to her was a bad idea._

"Still… I was kind of hoping you'd let the storm pass before moving out but it looks like things have turned for the worse," sighed the pink haired girl while placing a palm on her cheek and shaking her head. A moment later she clenched her fists and spoke with vigor in her voice, "anyway, Homura-chan! Have you been keeping track of the news lately?"

Admittedly, she was still settling in and making last minute preparations to her new apartment before outlining the defenses the local Military Base had so that she could procure some more weaponry so she didn't really have time to take a glance at the news. That and her nightly Witch Hunts under extreme caution had been taking its toll on her as displayed earlier.

"No, I haven't. I've been busy," she replied as she and her companion began walking once more. They had forty five minutes left until the bell.

"I'm not going to lecture you, Homura-chan, but there's been rumors flying around and I think they might be connected to the Witches!" Madoka seemed to be really eager to discuss this. It felt quite odd seeing her like this but Madoka was Madoka in the end. Homura tilted her head indicating that she was listening to which the other girl continued, "Witches supposedly influence human beings into doing things they shouldn't, correct? Suicides, depression and other odd behaviors, yes? Would it be a stretched to say that a single Witch could be behind an event by having one person commit a crime?"

Frowning, Homura took a moment before giving out her answer, "No, as far as I could tell, those who bear the mark of a Witch's Kiss tend to involve certain people surrounding them. But for a Witch to use someone for a very specific crime is uncommon. Normally, a Familiar would handle that job by waltzing out of a Barrier and wreaking havoc. With the Witch Population in this city, a single Witch may not be the only one at work here. It may also be that the Witch's nature is the one causing said crime. Was it ever said what this crime was?"

"Well, recently, there had been an awful lot of disappearances in the area. Most of them students and staff members of school. So far, twelve have gone missing and the police couldn't make heads or tails of the case with limited information," a solemn look crept upon the pink haired girl's face as she continued to explain, "W-Well… Only bloodstains are left at the scene of the crimes. No traces of a body. It's scary and I don't even think _I_ would stand up against whoever's behind this but there's a good chance that it's a Witch. Still, I heard that it's been getting worse and one student from our school has already been numbered as the thirteenth missing person this month."

The school was just up ahead, the chattering crowds of students filling their view as they walked side by side.

"What's the student's name?" Homura finally questioned as they passed the gates.

"A senior of ours," replied Madoka, her voice awfully small and vulnerable as she gulped, "She was an Honor Student too. Her name was Mami Tomoe."

* * *

><p>Mami Tomoe was dead.<p>

That was the official statement. Homura exited the faculty office with a piece of paper in her hand displaying her ex-upperclassman's apartment. She heard the story from Madoka that morning, sat through class in mild shock as the day wore on before finally making up her mind and visiting the faculty room for the full story. It was a sensitive story so it took a bit of her time to finally convince one of her teacher to spill the beans. The story pretty much went as Madoka described the other missing victims.

Bloodstains on the area where the girl was last seen and nothing more. In this case, the bloodstains were all over the interior of Mami's apartment. The full story was kept under wraps by the school's board members for the week but by the next weekly assembly, the chairman would be making an announcement regarding the recent disappearances as well as disclosing Mami Tomoe's fate. She didn't care about that or what the faculty thought, she was preoccupied with the thought of a veteran Puella Magi dying before the timeline had even begun.

This threw Homura in a loop as she tried to regain her bearings.

Certainly people died a few days after she looped in however it was a first for her to find out that one of her former comrades had already kicked it weeks before she arrived. The chain of events which have the possibility of occurring had all been butchered with a new set taking its place, one that Homura wasn't familiar with. If she hadn't come in contact with Madoka a few days ago, then the pink haired girl would still be blind about the existence of Magical Girls.

Homura was more than capable of dispatching those thugs from a distance and with precision yet she still revealed herself to Madoka back then. Yet she didn't and even went as far as explaining and warning Madoka about the System, about the Magical Girls and about the Witches in general.

The Witch could've been taken care of without Madoka being dragged in as collateral damage.

At the bottom line of this, Mami Tomoe never posed as a threat for disclosing the existence of Magical Girls to Madoka and Sayaka Miki seeing that she was already dead and may have not even contracted… Homura herself showed Madoka what it was like to be a Magical Girl.

And now the pink haired girl still hadn't expressed any intention of disinterest on being one.

"_Do you feel like a hero yet?"_

"Shut up," she growled as she leaned against a wall and rubbed her forehead.

She pretty much dug herself into her own grave now. But she still had a chance, Kyubey still hadn't shown his ugly face so that was a plus but provided little comfort. She would just need to stop Madoka from contracting and do her best to dissuade her.

"_Easier said than done."_

"I know," she snapped, venom laced in her words as she glared at the wall across her.

"_Well what are you going to do now?"_

"What do you think?" she hissed. Great, she was talking with the voices in her head. Just great.

"_Don't ask us, we're just a figment of your imagination. But if we were you, keep close to _her_ and you'll be fine."_

She perked up at this and rubbed her head. She really needed to see a doctor about this. Nevertheless, she knew that to do now. Investigating these disappearances was on her mental checklist now and she should be able to learn more now that school was over.

Walking down the hall, she nearly bumped into a familiar pink haired girl as she turned around the corner.

"Homura-chan? Oh, so it is you! I was thinking you've gone home already," said Madoka as she smiled warmly. Sayaka Miki was present behind her, giving the raven haired girl a half-hearted wave before turning her gaze elsewhere.

She turned her purple eyes at the shorter girl before her and gave her a nod of acknowledgement as she replied, "I simply had some errands to complete with the faculty. I'm thinking of going home for some rest."

"A rest is good, health officer's orders after all," Madoka stepped back and scratched the back of her head with a nervous laugh, "By the way, Sayaka and I are going to the mall for some window shopping. We thought you'd still be adjusting to the school here so we wanted to invite you."

Raising an eyebrow, she glanced briefly at the blue haired girl behind Madoka and saw that she wasn't really comfortable with the thought of Homura joining in. Going with them would mean that they'll be protected and that she'll be able to keep close watch on them without Mami Tomoe saving them from a Witch Scheduled to appear wherever they go. But then again, she won't be able to investigate the disappearances.

She gave Madoka one last look and saw a strange glint inside the pink haired girl's warm carmine eyes.

Oh…

Ohhh…

So that's how it was going to be, was it?

Seeing as she didn't have any choice in the matter, she finally relented and replied, "I see. Maybe that's what I need, some time to relax. Sayaka Miki."

The girl in question tensed and gave Homura a wary look, "W-W-What do you want, transfer student?"

"Are you a batter or a pitcher?" she asked and Sayaka only raised her eyebrows in confusion.

"You're not making any sense," deadpanned the Blueberry, her lips set in a straight, unamused line.

Giggling, Madoka lent a helping hand by replying for Homura's sake, "She probably wants to play baseball with you. I hear that the pitching machines around the downtown arcade are relatively new and popular."

Tilting her head, the blue haired girl narrowed her eyes at Homura and spoke her words very carefully, "Are you… challenging me, transfer student?"

"Maybe I am..?" murmured Homura, raising her own eyebrow as the atmosphere between her and Sayaka dropped a couple degrees.

The edge of Sayaka's lips twitched as she stared intently at the girl right beside her best friend, "Ohohoho… I knew you got some beef with me so you're thinking of settling it now, huh? Well, I'll be more than happy to take that as a challenge, transfer student! Whoever loses gets to do what the winner asks!"

"Eh?" Madoka was surprised by this as she turned her gaze at Homura, "Um, Homura-cha—"

"I accept," she replied with no hint of hesitation. This caused Sayaka to grin with a predatory light in her eyes glinted dangerously.

Sayaka then walked ahead with a smug look on her face as she slung her bag over her shoulder, "Well what are you waiting for? Let's go! Maybe I'll have the chance to change my impression of you!"

The remaining girls watched Sayaka laugh by herself as she disappeared into a corner, probably to mentally prepare herself for her upcoming duel. Homura merely shook her head and sighed at this while Madoka stifled a giggle behind her hand. It was here the raven haired girl turned to her companion and ask, "Please don't do this…"

"You weren't planning on resting at all weren't you, Homura-chan?" guessed Madoka with a thoughtful hum, "That's no good at all, you know?"

"It doesn't concern you, please stay out of this," muttered Homura in a low tone.

The pink haired girl took a few steps forward to follow Sayaka but turned around with a playful look on her face, "But it does, Homura-chan. You're my friend and you're going to investigate, yes? It's only right that I help you or at least see to it that you don't overwork yourself. Like, right now."

"Is… that so..?" the raven haired girl, she didn't really like the sound of that.

"_Cunning."_

Nevertheless, she replied, "If that is the only thing keeping you from doing something reckless, then I'll accompany you."

Madoka beamed at this and grabbed the other girl's hand and pulled her along, "Then let's go! You'll be prettier if you smiled too, Homura-chan!"

She only let herself be dragged along, Madoka's words echoing within her mind. At the presence of the pink haired girl, it seemed that the damned voices were being kept silent by her just being there. Homura felt relieved at this fact and allowed herself a small smile.

However at the edge of her vision, she could've sworn she saw a blur of white dart towards a corner and disappeared.

Her blood instantly went cold at this.

* * *

><p>She fell back first against the wall, a pool of warm red liquid gathering before her as her open wound continued to bleed out. She kept a hand on her stomach where the blood dribbled out, struggling force it back in with her depleting magic. She breathed in quick and shallow breaths, her lungs stinging in pain as she did with her consciousness slipping every two seconds. She cursed under her breath as she gritted her teeth, willing her magic to heal her wound.<p>

She noted how dark her Soul Gem was becoming and it wouldn't do her any good losing her magic when she had her guts spilling in front of her. She wouldn't put stupid illusions that she made it safely. When a Magical Girl hunted, they hunted with unrelenting ferocity and predatory efficiency that would put the most seasoned hunter to shame. She would've laughed at the tiny shred of hope that she was going to walk away from this alive, not after she watched another Magical Girl got shredded to pieces.

She had never seen a human being she had been yelling at be reduced to hamburger in the matter of _milliseconds._

"Fuck," she spat as she tried to move her body, only to notice a dark shadow loom over her.

Her ruby red eyes met with her hunter's weapon, her shocked expression giving into a defeated smile. She had done well surviving this long but even she cannot run forever. Her gaze travelled upwards and just before she could identify her would be killer's face…

_**BANG**_

The bullet went through her head, her limp body falling to the side with a pathetic thud as blood flowed from between her eyes. Her Soul Gem was still intact though if given time, she would eventually transform into a Witch. Her killer regarded her with solemn eyes and leveled a weapon at her darkening Soul Gem.

"No," the killer murmured and dismissed the weapon away. The killer already had her fill of victims for one night and she knew that Magical Girls gathered around Witches like flies dancing around a candle light. A cold creeping feeling ran under her skin, making her entire body shiver. She felt horrible, disgusted, and sick. She didn't want to kill anymore, all those girls, dead by her hand. She couldn't take it, not after she hurt so many people.

Gasping for breath, she summoned her own Soul Gem and found out that it was gathering a large amount of Grief too, corrupting her soul, giving her full view of her progress to Witchdom. Panicking, she reached inside her inventory and took out a Grief Seed, cleansing her Soul gem and restoring her magic as well as easing her frazzled nerves. Once she was calm, she looked down on the red Magical Girl bleeding before her and felt a twinge of guilt and regret.

"Sorry," murmured the killer before walking away and kicking off the ground.

A chorus of children's laughter echoed behind her as she left.

She was the Lady of Mercy and she hunted those she wished to grant eternal sleep.

* * *

><p><em>Nicolas Notes: Welp, that happened. Homu's not out of the fishnet yet. Anyhow, rate, review, leave feedback and such. Thank you for your time.<em>


	5. Chapter 5: Wishing for Blueberries

Another timeline gone…

* * *

><p>She twisted her body and drove her weight into the bat she was holding, timing just right and swinging in the right angle. A satisfying pop was heard later and the ball she hit was sent flying.<p>

_**DING**_

_**DING**_

_**DING**_

_**DING **_

_**HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMUUUUUU RUUUUUUUN!**_

"Ah… That's the fifth time in a row," she muttered as she looked up her score. Sure enough the neon orange lights shined a bright number five as fanfare burst all around, colorful streamers fell from the compartment above and showered around her. More beeping sounds and bright lights lit up before she rested her metal bat on its rack and retreated back to where her companions were. Exiting the booth's door, the first thing she saw was Madoka's smiling face filling her vision as she felt her hands be grabbed by a pair of warm hands as he pink haired girl bounced in front of her.

"That was so cool, Homura-chan! Five times in a row in all three sets! And that was on the highest difficulty too! Where'd you learn to hit like that? It was amazing!" squealed Madoka as she hopped on her feet with barely controlled awe.

It wasn't long before Madoka was grabbed from behind by Sayaka Miki's arms, promptly dragging her best friend away from Homura before she overwhelmed herself. The bluenette had a sour look on her face yet what complaints she had was swallowed in exchange for grudging respect as she held on her best friend, "Yeah, yeah, the transfer student's got moves. I should've expected this. Heh, that was good match by the way, I couldn't believe my eyes either."

She studied the blue haired girl's face before allowing herself a small smile as she replied, "Likewise, Sayaka Miki. That was an admirable performance, I'd play again if you'd like."

Sayaka blinked at her before breaking out a smile and said, "Yeah, but I'd be better off playing against a real person than a machine. That's how good you were, transfer student. Well… Maybe not as good as Madoka when she puts her mind to it, but good enough."

This caused Homura to raise an eyebrow and turn her gaze at the pink haired girl questioningly.

Madoka fidgeted slightly as she twiddled her thumbs, "Well… I _did_ teach Sayaka-chan a bit two years back but that's it…"

"D'awww, stop being so humble, I bet you'd be wiping the transfer student's score on the floor if you were against her, hahaha!" laughed the blue haired girl as she pulled in Madoka and twirled the shorter girl around like a life sized doll, much to the pink haired girl's dismay.

"S-Sayaka-chan, p-p-please! I'm getting d-d-dizzy!" protested Madoka as she struggled within her best friend's grip.

Homura watched the scene before her with great interest before sighing. She was currently accompanying her two classmates inside an arcade located at the heart of Mitakihara City. The sounds of various games and machines drifted past her ears with the blinking lights around her going on and off. The rough laughter of other patrons could be heard all around, namely some male students gushing over a new fighting game, though there were other customers hanging around like kids and their parents, couples and the occasional middle aged salary man.

Once or twice she was alerted of the presence of other Magi yet the readings disappeared as soon as they came. It was possible that these Magi wished to hide themselves from her to avoid trouble. Whether they were rookies or veterans, she didn't know, but if there was one soul that she knew that frequented these kinds of places then it was Kyouko Sakura. However it was still too early in the timeline for Kyouko to appear, possibly not for another week but she couldn't be too sure.

Mami Tomoe was dead and Madoka Kaname had a bloodlust of a professional killer.

There had been too many divergences from the normal timeline for her to relax. Still, she had managed to successfully keep both Sayaka Miki and Madoka Kaname from approaching the mall where the Garden Witch was known to spawn. But then again, that was based on her observations due to the many times she had encountered it there. Witch Barriers were tricky like that, the location in which they appear are all inconsistent with a few never appearing at all while many other Witches she had never seen before are created.

Take the fused Witches she had fought with Madoka just a few days ago. She was lucky that those two were relatively weak compared to a minor-Walpurigs class Witch and that their fused form and Barriers weren't all that strong. She would've counted herself lucky had she not fought more dangerous beings in even harsher conditions. She even died once in that Barrier and that was something she couldn't ever live down.

"_Good for nothing."_

Just as she was about hiss at the voice internally, Madoka grabbed her attention by addressing her, "Homura-chan, Sayaka-chan's going to get us some food. Is there anything that you'd like?"

"Oh and by the way, you're contributing," chimed in Sayaka as she waved a few Yen bills.

With the edge of her lips twitching, she dismissed the snappy remark she had in her mind and took out her purse. Handing Sayaka a few bills of her own, she then replied, "Buy me ice cream. Pumpkin Vanilla. Laugh and I will punch you."

"Righto, kiddy gal," snickered the blue haired girl before backing off as Homura took a threatening step forward, "Haha! Be back in a jiffy!"

Homura restrained herself from chasing after Sayaka and hitting her at least once and instead turned her attention back to the remaining girl whom was giving her a blank look.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"Does Pumpkin Vanilla flavor even exist?" questioned Madoka with a confused look.

Raising an eyebrow at this, she casually replied as she dug her fingers along the back of her head and flicked the black mass of her silky smooth hair, "It does. You only need to know where to find it."

"But Homura-chan, does Sayaka-chan know?" ventured the pink haired girl with an uncomfortable expression on her face as she fought back an amused smile.

Oh…

"If she ever gets lost, then she could contact us with her phone," she answered, nodding once to assure Madoka's discomfort. However that was if Sayaka didn't find herself within a Witch Barrier the time she was gone. Homura made a mental note to call five minutes later if the Blueberry didn't return.

Madoka gave her a warm smile before tugging at her sleeves while saying, "Why don't we play some more while she's out? Sayaka-chan has a habit of walking off to places when on errands. We'll go look for her later!"

She didn't resist once she was being pulled away and merely followed the shorter girl's lead as they walked. Being pulled like this had its own charm, a great change of pace from her usual actions. She almost forgot how soft and fragile Madoka's hands were, as if her companion's gentle fingers would break if she even thought of applying enough force. The warmth, the calmness and the peace… She missed it, she missed this feeling and she relished in it.

Yet she knew it couldn't last forever. She also knew that this Madoka was slightly different from the others. She also needed to be alert, to be awake to every single threat which would destroy this peace, all for Madoka's sake. She would defend this everyday life from anything that will come… Witches, Incubators, and Magical girls alike… And when it came to down to it once her own Soul Gem was pitch black… She'll destroy herself if it meant harming Madoka.

"_You sure about that?"_

Yes, even from the goddamned voices inside her head which she couldn't seem to get rid of despite—

"Homura-chan, have I ever told you how easy you are to read?" Madoka asked in her cheerful tone as she led Homura towards a crane game, ignoring the raven haired girl's surprised look to insert a coin. Now that came out of nowhere and Homura couldn't help but give her a confused stare while she played.

The pink haired girl giggled as she saw her friend's reflection on the glass as she made to grab for the plushie she liked, "Maybe that's one of your charm points. The cool and mysterious transfer student having a cute side to her while being an awesome Magical Girl by night. Is that what they call Gap Moe?"

"You watch too much anime," pointed out Homura as she averted her gaze.

"I-I think so, hehehe…Wha! Noooo!" crying out loud as she failed to get the black kitten toy, Madoka dug in her skirt pocket for another coin for a second try, "I hope this isn't rigged… Anyway, I hope you're not going to run off as soon as we finish up here. If I couldn't help it, I'd go to your house to make sure you're well rested but I'm not that nosy. How have you been adjusting to Mitakihara?"

_Well at least she isn't questioning my occupation as a Magical Girl,_ thought Homura before crossing her arms and observing her companion's game, "Everything seems to be in order. I've had no difficulties adapting and all of my papers have been completed. It's a nice city."

"Heeeh," the pink haired girl giggled at this as she continued to play, the lights of the game reflecting in her eyes, "I never meant that, Homura-chan, I was wondering if you're happy here. Being so glum would give you wrinkles, but I guess being cool and mysterious is just natural for you, hm? Have you made any friends yet?"

"I thought you were my friend," replied Homura without missing a beat. A moment later, she averted her gaze and added, "I suppose you could say I'm happy."

"Of course you're my friend! And I'm glad you think that way. Ah!" once again, Madoka failed to acquire the plushie she wanted to get and it seemed that she was all out of coins.

Watching the shorter girl search for coins, it was here did Homura let out a sigh before taking out her purse and inserting her own coin, "Move aside."

"H-Homura-chan?" startled, Madoka couldn't help but be surprised at this point.

"Point," ordered the raven haired girl as the game began before her companion smiled at her and pointed at the chosen plushie.

After three more failures which almost drove Homura insane, she managed to succeed in retrieving the plushie from its glass prison, leaving its soft, cottony brethren and being held in the embrace of one happy Madoka Kaname positively delighted. Maybe this wasn't so bad after all…

"Thank you, Homura-chan!" the pink haired girl said gratefully with a wide smile.

"We should call Sayaka Miki. She's been gone for quite awhi—"

"I'm here! Sorry! I was caught up in the queue and… is that a hella huge plush toy?" Sayaka stared in bafflement at the oversized white seal toy Madoka was busy hugging the stuffing out before turning her gaze at Homura who simply shrugged. Shaking the migraine out of her brain, she then continued, "Anyway, here's your ice cream, transfer student. Took me ages to find a stall but I found one in the end. And Madoka—Madoka please put the seal down and get your taiyaki."

"But the seal will get dirty, Sayaka-chan!" protested Madoka in a quivering voice.

Sayaka clicked her tongue as she handed Homura her ice cream, "Then I'll carry it, stop complaining. There we go! H-Hey, just how heavy is this thing?!"

"Must be the stuffing," suggested Homura in her usual deadpan as she licked her ice cream. She raised an eyebrow and examined her frosty treat a little bit closer and found that it had a different taste from the one she had been used to eating. Maybe it's because it's been sixteen timelines out of her total loops since she tasted one.

A shiver went through her as her entire body tensed. She felt her mind go numb as a creeping sensation went up her spine and wrapped itself around her head. Somehow the ambient music and sounds of machines gradually faded as if someone turned down the volume. It wasn't a magical interference or an effect of a nearby Witch Barrier but something else. Something both human and natural. Her eyes flicked to Sayaka Miki yet the blue haired girl didn't seem to take notice of anything.

Madoka on the other hand…

She watched the pink haired girl freeze for but a split second before both of their eyes met. A silent understanding exchanged between their brief eye contact. Somehow, they both knew that something has gone wrong. How or what was unknown yet judging from how they felt goose bumps in their skin meant that it was something bad.

It only got worse once Homura heard it herself.

_Help me…_

She knew that voice, familiar enough to make her eyes dart to the general direction of its source.

_Oh god… Shit, it fucking hurts… _

Her expression darkened once she recognized whom this person was but the look Madoka was giving her didn't sit well with her. She knew that Madoka couldn't hear the telepathy but it seemed that her own subtle movements were being picked up. Homura set her lips straight and tried to come up with a proper excuse to leave.

"Sayaka-chan, don't you have homework today? I mean, Miss Kazuko did call you out earlier for flunking that math test," piped up Madoka in her usual chirpy tone, catching her best friend by surprise before the look of dawning horror descended upon the blue haired girl's face.

"Wha-What?! Oh, right! I forgot! Damn, I was so hyped that I—"

"If you must go, then go. Would you like us to accompany you?" internally, Homura hoped Sayaka wouldn't accept and much to her great relief, everything went according as she desired. She still didn't like how Madoka was looking at her though.

"Hell no, I can go by myself but… Madoka, are you sure you'll be all right?" asked Sayaka with a worried tone, an uncertain look upon her face as she stared at her best friend.

Madoka gave her a reassuring smile and nodded, "Of course, Sayaka-chan. You know me."

Huh… Now this was odd.

"I have to go too," murmured Homura before turning around and walking off. She didn't even say goodbye before making her way through the crowd of people before her and cluttered machines. She heard Sayaka Miki's muffled complaint and yells before she found herself just outside the arcade, dusk already settling in upon the silver metropolis which was Mitakihara.

She sent out a pulse once more, her tracking magic stretching outwards until it reached its hundred meter range limit. She picked up on the beacons of other Magi around her, a couple minding their own business down the block, a lone Magi at the outskirt of her range and a faint beacon… its light fading into nothingness as its life ebbed away.

Cursing under her breath, she broke into a run, shoving past pedestrians with a subtle amount of her magic increasing her strength by a fraction. It was maddening, really, having to focus her attention on that flickering life some twenty meters away from where she was and receiving a detailed feedback on its slow descent to death.

Crossing the street and dodging a few more tired salarymen, she finally came across a damp and dirty alleyway where the beacon had led her. She really hated alleyways due to her most recent experiences with them yet she trudged forward and began her search. Finding her target wasn't all that hard though, all she had to do was follow the scent and sight of blood on the ground before coming across the distinct figure of a human being slumped against the wall.

She hoped she was wrong yet it seemed that she was right again. She hated being right.

With that in mind, she managed to hiss a name she didn't expect to leave her lips until a few more days later, "Kyouko Sakura…"

The red Magical Girl was barely conscious once Homura found her. Open wounds on her stomach and torso were accompanied by chunks of flesh in her arms and legs missing, whataver Kyouko fought would've been formidable to reduce a veteran Magical Girl to this state. Homura was no healer yet she could close up the worse of Kyouko's wounds with her magic but at the price of cleanse later. She was torn between the thought of sacrificing her dwindling supply of grief seed or Kyouko's life before finally deciding on the other girl's life.

No amount of begging or whining was going to stop her from collecting the debt Kyouko had on her.

She shifted her magic to her hands and focused them on the red haired girl's open wounds.

Ruby red eyes cracked open to stare at her purple ones before its owner let out a pathetic chuckle, "Oh hell… Some luck I got… Damn, shit…"

"I'd recommend for you to lose consciousness. Talking and staying awake will only worsen your condition," said Homura as she kept her narrowed gaze at the gradual pace Kyouko's wounds healed themselves. Already she could feel her Gem darkening and it wouldn't be long until she needed a cleanse. She wasn't even done with the worse injuries yet.

Just as she thought it wasn't going to get worse, she heard hurried footsteps approaching her from behind. Pulsing once, she found out that the person had no magical signature leading her to assume the worse.

"Homura-chan! What happened here? You suddenly left and— Oh no…" Madoka came to a halt once her eyes found Kyouko's battered form, her eyes widening in shock before a concerned look took its place, "Homura-chan… Why is she injured? What's happening here? Is she… the same as you..?"

Pursing her lips, Homura found it hard to stay silent once Madoka started talking to her in that tone, "She's dying. I'm trying to save her. This happens all the time."

"Y-Your Gem though," pointed the pink haired girl with an audible gulp and Homura found herself glancing at her Soul Gem. It was muddy black and she cursed under her breath.

"Shit," she snarled before retrieving a Grief Seed from her inventory and cleansing, "Give me a second here…"

Kyouko's response was nothing more than a half awake groan of pain as her head lolled to the right.

"There," stashing away the Seed, the black haired girl was about to resume her healing yet Madoka suddenly knelt at her side and supported the red Magical Girl's neck and body against the wall, "What are you doing?"

"Keeping her still and the flow of her blood steady. It will let her bleed but it's better than having them clogged up once you're done… fixing her," Madoka then looked into the other Magical Girl's eyes and let out a shaky breath as she said, "Please save her…"

"You didn't need to ask," replied Homura as she tried her healing magic once more. Honestly, if Sayaka Miki had contracted then this would've have been easier. But unfortunately, she didn't have such luxury and she had to make do with what she had. She concentrated a bit more and poured as much as magic she found reasonable into the red Magical Girl. Kyouko had started to regain some color once her condition was slowly stabilized, her breathing not that labored and her expression relaxing even for a bit.

Kyouko didn't look like she was going to stand any time soon though judging from the darkness in her Soul Gem and the extent of her still present injuries. Still, she opened one bleary eye and swept her gaze along her saviors. She glanced at Madoka before finally settling her eyes upon Homura, her lips parting as she murmured in a quiet voice, "We're being hunted. You're going to be next…"

That was the last thing she could utter with her remaining strength before she went limp. Homura checked her vital signs and found that they were damaged albeit functioning properly. She would probably need a cleanse but given the current situation, that would have to wait. Now, she just had to move Kyouko some place safe and unnoticeable. Her own apartment would do but a thought kept nagging her mind as she absentmindedly answered Madoka's own confused stream of questions.

They were being hunted. 'They' being Magical Girls. And it's possible that _she_ may be next if she took Kyouko's words to heart. Recalling the other Magi she detected earlier, it seemed that they weren't aware of the current situation yet but if this attack on Kyouko was related on the strings of disappearances…

Just as she was about to sink deeper into her own little world, she felt a warm hand settle itself on her shoulder and she found herself staring into Madoka's eyes. The pink haired girl then kneeled at her side and spoke in a gentle yet clear tone, "Homura-chan, I know you're wondering about this and why this is happening but this isn't really a good place to think. M-Maybe you can gather your thoughts better someplace else? I can help if you want just—"

"That won't be necessary… I… I will be able to take care of things on my own. You see how dangerous it is? I can't let you be involved any further. There's obviously something sinister afoot and it may be related to our upper classman's disappearance as well as other kidnappings," she stood up, and dusted her skirt, "Go home."

Narrowing her gaze, Madoka stood up as well before replying defiantly at the other girl, "I want to help, Homura-chan. I won't take no for an answer. Please let me help… Do you… Even know how to take care of her? Or her injuries? I don't like how that gem on your hand gets darker by the second…"

So she noticed that, huh? This was going to take some explaining to do.

"We're moving her to my home. I can hide her injuries but it won't bet for long. Can… No, I'll call a cab myself," sighing heavily, she was about to take out her phone when her companion spoke up.

"I can do it! It's the least I could do," piped up Madoka as she took out her own phone and dialed a number.

And this was supposed to be a good day too. Unfortunately it seemed that the universe was hell bent on making her life as miserable as possible. And she was down to a few charges left. She'll have to hunt soon but the prospect of being targeted by whatever was strong enough to take down a veteran like Kyouko didn't sit well with her. Kyouko was arrogant and cocky but she made up for her battle prowess, pragmatism and overall relentless ferocity with a spear.

Taking down a beast like Kyouko required just as much experience and clever tactics.

Homura didn't know if she was up to the task facing someone like that.

* * *

><p>It was around six in the evening did the two girls manage to bring the unconscious Magical Girl to the apartment. An hour later, they've finished wrapping up Kyouko's wounds and leaving her in Homura's bedroom to recuperate. Madoka was visibly nervous being inside the odd black haired girl's home and she couldn't help but look around. She was surprised on how… Spartan it looked.<p>

A few chairs and a sofa at the center with what seemed like a holographic pendulum swinging overhead. Scant few pictures decorated the wall though even these didn't add color to the interior of the room. Still, a nagging thought in her head told her that there was more to this room than it seemed. She couldn't stand sitting on the chair she was on so she got up and walked towards the bookshelves across her sofa.

Homura was absent, gone off to buy some pain killers for when the girl they saved woke up. Madoka was told not to disturb the red haired girl so she had to stay out of the bedroom until then. She wondered what was going through Homura's mind in that alleyway. Madoka had never seen the cool and collected transfer student that panicked at the prospect of a looming fight. The only times that she could consider that would garner that reaction would be back in that Witch's Barrier.

Madoka tensed once she heard the front door open and close. There was the sound of plastic bags shuffling before Homura came into view holding the medicine and bandages.

"Thank you for keeping an eye on her. I tried to be as quick as possible," she spoke as she passed by Madoka and took out a can of juice from the grocery, "Here, it should calm your nerves."

The pink haired girl accepted it and opened it, taking a sip before asking, "Um… So do you have any idea? On what's causing this, I mean. Aren't Magical Girls supposed to help each other? To fight against Witches? It doesn't make any sense."

She stopped what she was doing and turned her purple gaze at Madoka, "No, I've never encountered something like this before but Magical Girl killings were not something uncommon. It's just that being targeted specifically for some reason has caught me off guard. It's odd. And as for the last question, you're mistaken."

"How?" challenged the pink haired girl with a frown, "You're Defenders of Justice, this isn't supposed to happen!"

"Everyone has motivations and goals. A Magical Girls primary objective being to survive. You saw how powerful Witches could be and how hard it is to acquire a Grief Seed to restore our magic. Once a Puella Magi runs out of magic, they cease to function properly. Grief Seeds are increasingly limited resources so it wouldn't be a surprise if a few Magi get into scuffles over the ownership of a territory where they could harvest Witches."

Madoka's eyes showed surprise for but a moment before she averted her gaze, an uncomfortable look on her face.

"It's just like other people. Some are good, some are bad and some are in between. Puella Magi are the same seeing as we're all girls ourselves. To save or destroy, those are our only choices. You should be grateful for you have the choice to look away and be happy," Homura bore a grim look before she sighed and walked to where the other girl was. She then stopped before Madoka and held out her hand, "I'll give you insurance that you'll be safe. You can fight to an extent so I won't have to be worried about you defending yourself. Give me your weapons, I'll enchant them with my magic."

"Why?" asked Madoka, her voice only filled with confusion, "Why make sure that I'm the only one that needs to be safe? Why can't you save everyone else?"

"I am… I'm trying. But I'm not a god, I'm a Magical Girl," Homura glanced at her bedroom where the unconscious Kyouko was residing, "I just save those that I could."

The pink haired girl's grip tightened on her skirt before letting out a brief sigh. She then reached within her skirt pocket and took out the brass knuckles she kept hidden and placed them on Homura's hand. The Magical Girl regarded the crude weapons warily before closing her eyes and grabbing hold of the stray magic in the air and harnessing it around her Soul Gem before sending them into a concentrated stream towards the objects in her hand.

The room was filled with purple light for all but a split second before dying, the brass knuckles in Homura's hand glowing eerie purple in the dim lighting.

"I'm a Magical Girl and you've been close to me. There's no telling if you're not going to be attacked too so I enchanted these so that you could defend yourself," she explained without missing a beat, "If anything happens, I'd like you to give me a call and I'll come running. If it's a Witch or a Magical Girl, I will save you regardless. I will be hunting the killer in the meantime and… try to bring her into justice."

"Homura-chan…" Madoka didn't seem to be all too happy about this turn of events.

"Because that's what Magical Girls are supposed to do, right?" she regarded the pink haired girl with eyes of hardened determination yet her visage was devoid of any emotion, "to be Defenders of Justice, to right what was wrong, to save those who are in need."

The feeling of dread never left the apartment's living room.

* * *

><p>Sayaka Miki sighed heavily as she hugged the huge seal plush toy Madoka gave her. Well, apparently, the transfer student was the one who got it for her best friend yet Madoka decided to give it to her before chasing after Homura. She didn't like how her best friend was getting close to that queer transfer student but she supposed she couldn't blame her. Homura was all right yet something about her set Sayaka on edge. She told herself that she was just being an idiot yet she couldn't fully open up to someone who looks like they're hiding a few secrets.<p>

She contemplated calling Madoka just to check up on her yet decided against it at the last moment. It wasn't that late yet, maybe she could call Hitomi or something. Just as she was about to do just that, her vibrated in her school bag's pouch. A sigh and she tucked the stuff toy under her arm and tried to get her phone. Looking around, she was still far off from her home, this was going to be a pain explaining to her parents. The passing cars were rather noisy so she retreated to a nearby park and opened her phone there.

A single message.

It's from Madoka.

_Hello Sayaka-chan! Sorry for running off like that._

_I promise to make it up to you later!_

_Where are you now?_

Smiling at this, Sayaka began typing back her reply.

_I'm cool. Was just going home. _

_This toy's really heavy you know? You'd be better off carrying it yourself._

_I'm at a park now, taking a breather. I'll text you back later._

Pressing the send button, Sayaka then stowed her phone into her pocket before walking off once more. Madoka had always been a worrywart though there are a few things that amazed her about her best friend. For one, Madoka was the kind of person who was weak willed and easily cowed under peer pressure and stress yet she was a good person all around. Always bubbly, always cheerful, always understanding… Sayaka couldn't help but be amused by the Madoka her best friend is projecting on the outside.

Right, because as kind as Madoka Kaname was on the outside she was just as ruthless on the inside. It was always amazing and terrifying whenever Madoka descended into _that_ phase. It also got Sayaka thinking on what on earth just happened to her best friend. She's been with Madoka every step of her life yet there were just something she didn't understand. How could a selfless, comforting and understanding girl beat a train molester in cold blood without as much flinching?

Sayaka shuddered as she recalled that fateful spring afternoon a few years back. It was supposed to be a normal day out with Madoka, shopping, looking around and generally goofing off. And then that incident just had to happen. The first time she saw it, she didn't even have the strength to move. It wasn't until other men and women managed to pry off Madoka from the molester did she manage to gather the courage to talk to her best friend.

She would've slapped herself at that moment. Her? Being scared of her adorable best friend? She should feel bad about that. Still, the look in Madoka's eyes back then still disturbed her. She tried asking the Kaname household if anything was wrong but it seemed that Madoka's parents were just as confused as she was. It didn't seem like she was getting answer either way unless she sucked it up and asked Madoka herself.

Right! That's what she was going to do. It's about time she confronted Madoka about this, especially with that Akemi girl lurking around. Strange how Sayaka felt worry for a girl like Akemi instead of the other way around. If Madoka somehow hurt the transfer student then who knows what would happen.

She came to a halt at that moment. Something was wrong.

"What the..?" her question never ended as she saw a blur of white and orange crash right in front of her. It was the battered form of a young girl in an orange dress and black cat-like cap. Sayaka would've run to help her had she not seen the gaping wound on the young girl's stomach. Blood… It reminded her of _that_ time again. She couldn't move a muscles as her entire body was paralyzed.

Just as she was about to force her will upon her limbs to move again, she noticed a blur of white dash on its four legs towards the fallen girl. And somehow, Sayaka could _understand_ it. It was a tiny animal cross between a cat with a fluffy tail and long flat membranes sticking out of its cat-like ears. It had a look of concern on its face as it nudged the injured girl with its paw.

_Nagisa! You need to stand up! You're going to get killed! Wake up now! _Urged the white animal with growing anxiety in its tone.

"H-hey! What's going on?" called out Sayaka as she forced her legs to move and approach the injured girl. Someone's going to be killed? The thought made her blood run cold for a moment before she snapped herself out of her reverie. She had to help this girl.

The creature looked up at her with its curiously red eyes and tilted its head, _You can hear me?_

Sayaka didn't have the chance to reply as she watched the creature receive bloody holes on its body, gunshots roaring at the distance and shredding him to pieces. She went deaf at the moment, her adrenaline running high as she moved, as fast as she could towards the girl. She didn't even feel the bullet piercing her back and exiting through her stomach.

She was shot.

She was shot…

She was going to die.

_**BANG**_

A bullet hit her shoulder as she fell into the ground. She couldn't even scream as the pool of red liquid gathered underneath her at an alarming rate. She couldn't breathe, it hurt so much. She raised her head and looked at the girl ahead of her. It seemed that she was unconscious but otherwise very much alive, her own injuries leaking with blood.

A step beside her and she turned her gaze upwards. She found herself staring at someone's weapon, a gun or staff of some sort, she couldn't really make out. What did she see was the fact that her culprit had a horrified look on her face, the weapon suddenly shaking erratically before the culprit turned tail and ran. Well at least the kid was safe, she couldn't say the same for the white animal though…

Sayaka Miki was dying and the last thing she heard was the words 'wish' and 'contract'.

"_**I wish I can heal that girl."**_

* * *

><p><em>Nicolas Notes: Aaand Blueberry gets an extra life. Dammit, why did I put Kyubey in there? I was planning to kill Blueberry off! Anyhow, more magical girls! We'll get to see Madoka punch people again in the next chapter! Rate,review and share your feedback! Thanks for reading.<em>


	6. Chapter 6: If I was a Magical Girl

Another Timeline gone…

* * *

><p>She walked with her head low as she went on her way back home. She was worried… Worried not only about what was happening to the city but for Homura as well. Obviously something was up and she disliked it that she was being shut out. She wanted to help yet Homura told her not to get involved. Magical Girl business… She wondered if she too was a Magical Girl, then maybe… No. Homura wouldn't want that. She knew first-hand what it was like to be a Magical Girl…<p>

She was afraid. She didn't know what it would be like to be constantly fighting monsters. Coming to a halt, she glanced at the front of a television store and watched the news. Nothing important but the latest weather forecast. Odd, it was as if the world was ignoring the problems it had and simply lived on. Few people, good people, struggled to correct the wrong… And these people lost hope due to being overwhelmed. Looking at her own hands, did she consider herself one of these good people?

With what she was doing, was she actually doing good by digging deeper into this Magical Girl business? She wanted to understand what Homura thought but she could never get the raven haired girl to open up to her. Of course it would be that way, they haven't even known each other for a few days… And yet…

"Why does it feel we've met somewhere before," she murmured softly.

She couldn't leave Homura alone. She could never allow Homura to fight alone. But she could also never be a Magical Girl. By becoming one, she would be trampling all over what Homura fought for. Still, she couldn't just watch in the sidelines. Now that she knew about the existence of Witches, then there's no way she could stay put when people are in danger. If only she could help somehow…

Someone passed her just then at the edge of her vision, walking right in front of her in a strange, slow gait. She immediately recognized the mane of green hair and yellow school uniform.

"Hi…Hitomi-chan?" confused, she walked towards her friend and grabbed her by the arm, "Hitomi-chan, I thought you had your lesson today—"

That's odd, Hitomi's hand was cold… Almost freezing and there was a blank look in her eyes. She let go of Hitomi's hand and stepped back, her eyes quickly focusing on the odd mark on Hitomi's neck. It was a Witch's kiss and the mere sight of it made her recoil.

It seemed only then did Hitomi notice her, a strange smile on her face as she greeted Madoka, "Hello Kaname-san. A wonderful evening to you."

"No, this isn't right… Where are you going, Hitomi?" with her eyes hardening, Madoka lowered her voice and put a tiny trickle of warning in her tone as she kept a firm grip on her friend's uniform.

"Where? Anywhere better than here," hummed Hitomi with the same airy smile, "You should join us, the more the merrier as I always say."

This was bad. If nothing was done then this could only end in tragedy. She couldn't take her eyes of Hitomi now but she knew she had to contact Homura somehow. She cursed herself for not asking the Magical Girl's number. She watched as Hitomi and a few people she presumed to be infected by the Mark too walk into the distance.

Maybe… Maybe she could save them. All by herself. Homura could be contacted later. For now, she had to save Hitomi.

Madoka ran after her friend, not knowing the battle which awaited her.

* * *

><p>Sayaka Miki groaned in pain. Just how long was she out? Possibly a few minutes. She hazarded a few hours. God help her if she slept in again but the thing she was lying on seemed too hard and too cold to be her bed. Opening her eyes, she sat up with a jolt, looking around in surprise as she found herself inside the same park. Just… what happened? Last thing she remembered was walking down her before…<p>

Girl. Cat. Gunshot. Pain. Blood. Dying. Fear. Wish. Death.

She fought off the urge to be sick and shut her eyes tight. Just… Was that even real? She checked her back and found that it was whole, no signs of damage and… What the hell was she wearing!?

"U-U-Um… Are you okay? A-Are you unhurt?" came a shaky voice from somewhere beside her. Sayaka rubbed her head and looked up with one eye, only to find a little girl in an orange coat and brown poofy shorts. Her long white hair cascaded on her front as she leaned forward to examine Sayaka with her orange eyes.

It was the injured girl earlier. With a breath of relief, Sayaka smiled and said, "Glad you're okay, kid. But… What exactly… happened? What the heck is this outfit?!"

"_You've become a Magical Girl!"_ piped up a high pitched voice to her right. Sayaka's eyes went wide as she found the white animal from earlier grooming itself before turning its crimson gaze towards her, _"Can't you remember? You made a wish! A wish to save Nagisa's life. The both of you were dying but instead of expiring from acquiring such a fatal wound you made a wish to save Nagisa here, ultimately turning yourself into a Magical Girl as well as saving another's life!"_

What…?

Sayaka's jaw hung loose as she stared at the talking… rabbit… thing and merely forced out a squawk, "What?"

"_You're a Magical Girl!"_ repeated the bunny cat animal with a tilt of its head.

"I get that part but seriously, what?" Sayaka had a hard time wrapping her mind around this as she placed a hand on her forehead, "But magical girls only exist on TV! Don' tell that I'm… Oh god… Damn…"

A rustling of clothes at her side and she turned her gaze at the tearful Magical Girl whom began to sob with trembling shoulders, "I-I-I'm sorry! Nagisa didn't mean to..! You weren't supposed to get involved! S-Sorry, big sister! You w-weren't supposed to be here! It's all my fault! My fault! You didn't have to be a Magical Girl! I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry—"

"_Oh dear, it seems that her Gem has begun darkening once more…"_ observed the white animal as it stared at the candy shaped Gem on the little girl's person.

"H-Hey! What happens if her Gem darkens!" cried Sayaka as she stood up to hold the little girl into an embrace. She patted the girl's back as she looked at the white animal for answers, "Tell me!"

"_She will lose her Magic. If nothing is done then I'm afraid she can't be a Magical Girl anymore,"_ explained the animal as it stared at Nagisa.

Her grip tightening around the blue Magical Girl's costume, Nagisa's orange eyes turned into dangerous slits as she snarled, "Shut _up_, Kyubey! Go away!"

"_Dear me, I was merely providing useful information," _countered Kyubey as it scratched its face with its front paw.

"Go away! Just… Just don't talk anymore!" ordered Nagisa as she tried to control her breathing.

"Hey kid, you need to calm down!" reminded Sayaka. She really didn't know what to do in this situation… But she had a bad feeling. And her bad feelings always turned out to be right. She can't let this kid's Gem darken otherwise something bad will happen. Dread settled upon her shoulders as she tried to ignore what implications that meant. So she mustered her courage and tried to do what she could in this situation, "L-Look. I'll help you out! Just tell me what to do to stop your gem from getting dark. You don't want to lose your magic, right? Come on, kid, help out here!"

Nagisa's eyes had lost the venomous gaze they held when they were trained upon the white animal and were now dead and empty as she stared at her own hands. She was scared, she was scared and she didn't know what to do. Sayaka felt the same way but she needed answers so that she could help out. She wasn't about to bail when there's a kid in trouble right in front of her.

"A Witch… You need to kill a Witch… Witches drop Grief Seeds. Grief Seeds… They cleanse Gems," the little girl seemed to be going through physical pain as she spoke of this… Sayaka decided not to press the issue and ask something else.

"Where do I find this Witch?" she asked and the girl merely shut her eyes and shook her head.

Sayaka tried to think out of the box. If she was a magical girl now then Witches were supposed to be these monsters of the Week kind of thing, right? Things the Magical Girls fought with sunshine and rainbows and all that shit. Still, this could mean that she would have to fight too… But did she have a weapon in the first place? No, she had to find that Witch first. But how?

She glanced up ahead and found that the white animal still hadn't heeded the little girl's words earlier and was observing the situation with what Sayaka could only identify as a curious gaze. She decided to press her luck and ask ,"Hey ferret thing, how do I find Witches? Do you know where one is right now?"

"_But of course,_" it replied before turning its direction southward, "_There's a relatively weak Witch located southbound of this area. You should be able to defeat it and acquire a Grief Seed for Nagisa Momoe."_

Nodding, Sayaka then stood up before scooping the little girl into her arms. Nagisa let out a yelp and struggled for a bit yet Sayaka didn't let her go, "I'm going to help you and you're coming with me. Tell me where to go."

The little girl stared at her as if she had gone insane before averting her gaze and murmuring out a reply, "I don't want to die…"

"Good enough for me," Sayaka smiled at this and ran, her instincts taking over as she stomped one foot on the ground and launched herself into the air. Huh… Maybe this Magical Girl thing wouldn't be so bad after all. She still felt like she was in some really odd dream but who cares? She had a girl to save.

* * *

><p>She reached out to her green haired friend's shoulder and tightened her grip. Hitomi Shizuki came to an abrupt halt as she was held back by the pink haired girl's iron clamp grip. Bearing a confused expression on her otherwise blank face, she turned to her shorter friend and asked in a pleasant tone, "Is something the matter, Kaname-san?"<p>

She was breathing hard from all the running. While she was confident in her skill to move quickly in a short amount of time, she was never cut out for running for long periods of time. Nevertheless she was glad she caught up to Hitomi before the green haired girl managed to go… wherever she wanted to go. Madoka could still see that the Witch mark was active on Hitomi's neck…

"We're leaving," murmured Madoka before realizing what she had just said. Then… If she left then would that mean that she was also leaving all of those other victims to die? No… She had to bring Hitomi to safety first and then… And then what..? She wasn't a Magical Girl… What can she do? The heavy weight in her pocket clinked together as she was deep in thought. Right… Maybe there were some thing she could do by herself.

"Sorry Kaname-san but I'd like to see this for myself," replied Hitomi before she followed the other Witch marked victims into a warehouse. Her words weren't enough and her hesitation only led to time being wasted. She clicked her tongue and entered the warehouse where the people gathered. The shutters suddenly closed as soon as she was in and her attention was turned towards the group circling around a man with an odd bucket sitting right in front of him as he sobbed.

"I'm so useless," he cried into his hands, "I can't even manage this small factory properly…"

She watched in morbid curiosity as a woman stepped forward with a bottle in her hands as the man continued to cry.

"In this day and age," sobbed the man, his shoulder trembling and his face filled with agony, "there's no way there's a place for me anymore…"

Over the man's sobbing, she studied the expressions of the people present. They were smiling and it wasn't the good kind of smile. A smile of mockery and blind bliss, as if they were asking for this to happen while relishing in the man's pain. She watched in shock to find the same expression upon Hitomi's face. Her eyes then settled upon the bottle the woman had in her hands.

_Is that… Detergent!?_ She thought as her eyes widened, _The gases will kill everyone here! This is a group suicide!_

She had to move, otherwise everyone here will die! Just as she was about to step forward, Hitomi's arm shot out of nowhere and obstructed her path.

"Get out of my way! Don't you know what you're doing?!" she cried. She didn't want to hurt Hitomi. If she became violent, then who knows how much she would hurt Hitomi by the end of this.

The green haired girl's expressionless face contorted into a snarl as she barked back, "You can't interrupt them! This is a holy ceremony… We'll be travelling to another world. A better world than this one! Don't you get… How amazing that is?"

And then the people laughed. A haunted mirthless laughter which echoed all around the warehouse as the sound bounced off the walls. Even the man who was sobbing earlier was laughing, laughing at her confusion, her puzzlement and at her ignorance. It was like they knew something she didn't… They clapped their hands and whooped as the woman with the bottle came close to the bucket.

Madoka had enough of this farce and shoved Hitomi aside, dashing towards the bucket and tossing it out of the window.

There was a crash and splash outside and Madoka breathed in relief. At least now, no one would have to die… She was about to turn around when her instincts screamed at her to lean backwards. And so she did and she narrowly avoided being caught by Hitomi's clumsy swing. Madoka unconsciously jabbed her friend in the ribs twice before knocking her out with a well placed kick to the traumatized area. Coming to a halt from her spin, she gave the rising Hitomi an apologetic look before she faced the now hostile Witch marked victims.

They didn't seem to take it well for her interfering with their journey to the afterlife.

Still, Madoka didn't care. At the very least, punching some sense into them was preferable to dying by gas poisoning. The crowd muttered darkly as they converged, their eyes filled with hostility and killing intent which the pink haired girl found suffocating.

And then the first few people charged at her.

There was a storage room behind her so she could easily escape if she wanted however there was no telling when the Witch will arrive. If she could help it, she'd rather knock these people out before they willingly walked into a barrier.

She sidestepped a salary man's punch and grabbed his outstretched arm and kicked his knee, shattering it and forcing him to kneel. She then used him as a platform to launch herself upwards and kicking a woman square in the face with her foot before ducking low to avoid a punch and sending out her own into said woman's face.

She ducked low once more, rising up and sending two quick jabs to Witch marked victim's chest before grabbing his shirt and tossing him into two rushing people. She dived to the side and took out her brass knuckles, swinging upwards to meet with a pipe descending her way. Her entire arm rattled from meeting the pipe head on yet she grabbed the pipe in that split second and stole it, swinging it hard and cracking her enemy's head with it.

She jabbed the pipe behind her and caused a woman to double over before swinging across her face. Not content, she sent a foot unto the woman's gut before knocking her down with the metal pipe. She then held the pipe with both hands and forced its mid-section into a man's gut as he was about to bear upon her. He let out a strangled squawk as his eyes went wide before Madoka forced the pipe upwards. Spit and blood mixed in the air before the girl slammed the pipe into his face.

Breathing hard, she tried to regain her breath before dropping the pipe with a clatter. A pair of strong arms then took hold of her from behind while a woman had another pipe and was about to cave her face in. Madoka felt her blood run cold as her world seemed to slow down. She couldn't afford to be merciful…

_After all, it's just self-defense, right? _ She thought as she watched the pipe descend, _I was just trying to save them and then they attacked me. Now I'm just defending myself. It couldn't be helped, right? Right, so it's okay… It's okay because it's just self defense! Defend, defend, defend, defend, defend, defend, defend, defend, defend, defend, defend, defend, defend, defend, defend, defend, defend ,defend, defend—MOVE, KANAME MADOKA!_

She could've sworn she curled her lips into a small smile at that moment.

She wasn't going to die… Not here, not now… So she used her weight to hold on the arms grabbing her and raised her foot. She kicked aside the pipe the woman was holding before using the momentum gained from her brief rise to smash the foot of the man holding her. Even when cursed with the Witch mark, the man could still feel pain so he let her go easily. Madoka moved like a demon as she turned around with her fist shut.

_**CRACK**_

A satisfying crack resounded as her brass knuckle caved in the man's face while her own expression was blank though filled with bloodlust. The man fell from her punch and she felt movement behind her just as he was about to rest. She recalled the woman with the pipe and figured that this person was her, so Madoka ducked low and sent an elbow to the woman's gut, smashing in her shoulder with a solid right hook and then kicking her aside.

She panted and wheezed yet she was otherwise alive. Everyone else too was alive though a bit more roughed up thanks to her ministrations. Her fists were bloody and so were a few people's faces but at least they were alive. Not exactly a job well done but it was a start.

She looked around at the bloodied appearances of what once were normal, everyday living Japanese citizens and nervously chuckled. Um… Oops?

She then turned her attention to the figure of Hitomi with a Witch mark still present on her neck. The green haired girl took one look at the scene and ran. Madoka's eyes widened and called out, "Hitomi!"

There wasn't any time to waste. These people would be okay since the Witch marks have disappeared from their bodies but Hitomi was a whole other story. She broke into a run to pursue her friend and ran out of the warehouse. To her right she found Hitomi sprinting fast and ascending a steel staircase. She followed suit and climbed up the same stairs as Hitomi ran through a set of doors.

"Wait! Hitomi, stop!" she had to save her. She had to save Hitomi…

_Because that's what Magical Girls are supposed to do, right?_

You're wrong…

_To be Defenders of Justice, to right what was wrong, to save those who are in need._

"You're wrong!"

Madoka was then greeted by a strong gust of wind as she exited the door and found herself on top of a roof. The moon shined its silver glow above, watching over the city of Mitakihara as it went about its busy nightlife. Even then, it watched as the pink haired girl stood in shock as her green haired friend stood at the edge of the building's rooftop.

"Just where do you think do you find me wrong, Kaname-san?" questioned Hitomi with the same blank smile on her face, "I simply wish to walk over the other side where everything will be better. Where I don't have to be hurt… It's sad, you know, Kaname-san? In this world, people are always hurt yet they pretend that they're okay. I envy those people… I envy you for being so strong… Even when you bleed, get bruised, or get cut you do not cry. Just why..? Why can't I be like you? Why can't I be strong?"

"Hitomi… please… don't do this," murmured Madoka as she reached out with her right hand, "Please come back. Don't listen to the Witch!"

"Ah… The night's so beautiful… I wonder if you could still fight, Kaname-san… You'll join me soon enough…" Hitomi had a peaceful smile on her face as she leaned backwards.

She was going to die… Hitomi was going to die and there was nothing she could do about it. She cried out, begged and ran, hoping that she'll make it as her friend fell back first. She had to go faster, she had to be faster otherwise she'll never… save…

If only she was a Magical Girl… If she was a Magical Girl then could this be avoided? Is this… Her punishment? For being so foolish, for being so weak..? This is definitely…

And then she watched as the world around her gradually changed. The landscape morphed and the sky was shut out by a metallic ceiling with a series of tubes sticking out and connecting to one another. There were television boxes hanging around and showed nothing but a white screen. The building she was on shimmered and disappeared and she watched as Hitomi's body hit a television box held by two angelic looking creatures with a blank smile on their faces.

Familiars.

They had Hitomi…

Anger flushed through Madoka's veins as she clenched her fists. Those monsters had her friend…

She equipped both of her brass knuckles as they emitted a faint purple glow courtesy of Homura's magic. She may not be a magical girl yet she can fight. She wasn't someone who was going to run and cry and let people fight for her. She was… Madoka Kaname… She was going to save her friend. And anyone who dared cross her path will be punished… If they dared attack her, then she'll simply respond in kind.

After all, there was nothing wrong with defending herself, right?

Madoka Kaname was a middle school girl and she was going to face a Witch to save her friend.

* * *

><p><em>Nicolas Notes: Madoka... Stop. What the hell. Homu's not around! You're gonna get yourself killed! Madoka!<em>

_Short chapter but eh. rate, review and share your thoughts. They're very much appreciated. Thanks for reading!_


End file.
